Lewis & Clark County Detention Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

A judge makes the call. Montana's rule is that an arrest leads to a judge "without unnecessary delay" (MCA 46-7-101). Release gets settled right at that first hearing (MCA 46-9-109), and the hearing can run on a video screen from the jail (MCA 46-9-206).

Which bench hears it turns on the charge and the town:

• Justice Court takes county misdemeanors and opens almost every felony. Inmates appear before a Justice of the Peace on camera at 1:00 p.m. each weekday. Its criminal desk is 406-447-8202.
• Helena Municipal Court takes offenses inside city limits. A person jailed overnight on a city charge who has not bonded out appears on camera at 8:00 a.m., Monday through Friday. The clerk is at 406-447-8466.
• East Helena City Court covers that small city, 406-227-5321.

Bail set in Justice Court follows a felony when it is bound over to District Court. The district judge, though, has the power to change the amount or the type (MCA 46-9-201).

Montana judges must reach for the mildest terms that still get the defendant to every hearing (MCA 46-9-108). Common options include:

• Own recognizance. Your loved one signs a promise to appear, and no money is due (MCA 46-9-111).
• Conditions. They sleep at home but live by rules: sober, home by a set hour, no firearms, no contact with the person who made the report.
• Cash. You pay the court the whole figure. It sits with the clerk until the final ruling.
• Commercial bond. A licensed bail agent guarantees the total, and you pay that agent a fee.
• Real estate. Montana property can be pledged if the owner's equity, free of any loan, is large enough (MCA 46-9-401).
• Driver's license. On certain traffic tickets, handing over the license works in place of cash.

After a repeat partner assault or felony stalking, expect the judge to order an ankle monitor when one is free (MCA 46-9-108).

Judges across Montana can look to the Supreme Court's Recommended Bond Schedule. Think of it as a starting point, since judges in Helena may set more or less. State surcharges are included in each figure. Here are sample lines from the schedule dated January 2026:

• Simple assault that injures someone: $585, judge needed
• Truancy: $135, judge needed
• Supplying alcohol to a person under 21: $535, judge needed
• Running a boat while impaired: $335
• Illegal gambling, if it is the second time in 5 years: $750
• Deliberate homicide and the other felonies listed: blank, so the judge picks a figure

There is no schedule bail at all for five kinds of charges: stalking, choking a partner, any assault on a partner or relative, and breaking a no-contact or protection order. For each, the person waits for a judge (MCA 46-9-302). For the exact figure in your case, phone Justice Court at 406-447-8202 or the city court clerk at 406-447-8466.

Staff at the jail can accept bail in the judge's place if a posted bail list or the warrant itself gives the figure. You must get a signed receipt back (MCA 46-9-302). Run down this list before you leave home:

1. Call the Detention Center at 406-447-8232.
2. Spell out your loved one's legal name, then the birth date. Ask the bail on every charge, one at a time.
3. Ask which payments staff accept for bail, and the payee name to write on a money order or cashier's check.
4. Ask whether your loved one must still go before a judge, which is the rule in partner assault cases.
5. Ask about other holds that would stop the release even after you pay.
6. Carry photo ID and the right amount. Put the receipt in a safe spot at home.

The jail is at 221 Breckenridge Ave., Helena, MT 59601. Never drop cash in the mail for bail.

Two county web pages list different book-and-release times. One gives a short evening window on a few weekdays, and an older page says the desk runs around the clock. Don't count on either. Phone the Detention Center at 406-447-8232 before you make the drive. Ask when staff can take bail and about when your loved one will walk out.

Release takes time even after bail clears. Officers finish forms, hand back street clothes and close the jail account. If you are the ride home, ask staff where in the building to wait.

Montana's rules for lower courts let schedule bail be paid at the court's own counter on regular court days during business hours. Each court posts its schedule in its office.

• Justice Court: 228 Broadway, Room 102, Helena, MT 59601, 406-447-8202. Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday.
• Helena Municipal Court: Law and Justice Center, 406 Fuller Ave., Helena, MT 59601, 406-447-8466. The clerk keeps the same 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. weekday hours. City officers won't accept bond out on the street. On a minor offense that needs no judge, pay at the clerk's window within a week of the date set on the ticket.
• East Helena City Court: City Hall, 306 E. Main Street, Room 101, East Helena, MT 59635, 406-227-5321. Its clerk is in 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.
• Clerk of District Court (felonies): 228 Broadway, Room 104, Helena, MT 59624, 406-447-8215.

Phone ahead. Find out the figure, what the counter takes, and how fast the jail hears that you paid.

CitePayUSA is the online service the local courts send people to. Justice Court, the municipal court and the East Helena court each use it, for a fee, so people can clear tickets and fines with a citation number. It is a fine payment tool. It is not set up to bail a person out of jail. Each court links it from its own page:

• Justice Court payments
• Municipal court fine payments
• East Helena City Court

Be careful with the jail's lobby kiosk and its online deposit site. Both put money on an inmate's commissary account, and that money does not count as bail. When paying a fine, Justice Court accepts cash, money orders, cashier's checks and personal checks on a Montana bank, but not out-of-state, post-dated or two-party checks. For bail, ask the court or the jail at 406-447-8232 what form of payment works.

Montana's legal term for a bondsman is long: "surety bail bond insurance producer." Licenses are handled by the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance (MCA 33-17-1601). Know these points before signing anything:

• Your fee buys the agent's promise to cover the full bail if the person runs. You won't see that fee again.
• Expect a request for collateral, maybe a truck title. Ask for written terms on giving it back.
• Miss a court date and the agent can pick the person up. Except in an emergency, local police get a call first (MCA 46-6-508).
• A bond only guarantees court appearances. Fines and restitution are a separate bill (MCA 46-9-503).
• Confirm the license on the national licensee lookup before signing.

Each bail is tied to one case. Watch for these other things that can hold a person:

• Out-of-area warrants. As of 2025, local judges may not set bail on a warrant issued somewhere else (MCA 46-9-201).
• Extradition. After being sent back from another state, your loved one first faces the judge who signed that warrant (MCA 46-9-105).
• Probation or parole. The judge factors in current supervision (MCA 46-9-109), and the officer in charge may ask for a hold.
• Two or more cases. A ticket from city police plus a county charge means two bails.
• Federal or ICE holds. Both are covered later on this page.

Have the jail at 406-447-8232 read off every hold before any money changes hands.

Rarely. The only outright exception the constitution makes is a death penalty charge where "the proof is evident or the presumption great" (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 21). It also forbids excessive bail (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 22).

Still, a judge can keep a defendant locked up until trial if there is good reason to fear that no rules would get them back to court (MCA 46-9-106). The judge weighs the charge, past convictions, any history of fleeing, how risky release would be for others, and how many years your loved one has lived in the area (MCA 46-9-109).

This county is one of five in a state pretrial pilot. Each person held gets a scored risk report, and it reaches the judge and both lawyers two hours or more before court. The score never decides the case. The judge does. Prosecutors at the County Attorney's Office, who may push for high bail or none, can be reached at 406-447-8221.

Plenty of defendants here wait for trial at home under watch rather than in a cell. Two local programs help:

• Pretrial Services. Officers from the county's Criminal Justice Services keep tabs on people released while their cases move. Reach them at 406-457-8845, in the Law and Justice Center, 406 Fuller Ave., Helena, MT 59601.
• 24/7 Sobriety Program. This twice-a-day breath test plan started as a pilot in this very county. A judge may add it to bail after a second DUI or in other cases where drinking or drugs were involved (MCA 44-4-1205). The defendant covers testing costs, and signing up can run as much as $30.

Breaking a release rule can bring a new arrest and a fresh bail hearing. Read the written order line by line (MCA 46-9-110).

Yes. The defense or the prosecution may ask the judge to raise, lower or reshape bail and its rules (MCA 46-9-311), as long as the other side is told ahead of time. Families can help in a few ways:

1. Ask the defense attorney to file a motion with the judge who has the case.
2. Collect proof such as recent pay stubs, a rental agreement and notes from relatives, plus an honest number for what you can pay. State law forbids oppressive bail and says it must fit the defendant's finances (MCA 46-9-301).
3. Offer safeguards, like pretrial check-ins or 24/7 breath tests, that answer the judge's concerns.

Ask Justice Court at 406-447-8202 how such a hearing is scheduled. Felony cases are scheduled through the District Court clerk, 406-447-8215.

At the first appearance, the judge has to tell the defendant about the right to counsel (MCA 46-7-102). The state public defender handles felony cases, jailable misdemeanors and youth cases. Someone qualifies when the household brings in 133% of the poverty guideline or less, or when hiring a lawyer would strain the family badly. A paycheck, or enough cash for bail, does not by itself rule anyone out (MCA 47-1-111).

• Helena office: 139 N. Last Chance Gulch, Helena, MT 59601, 406-444-0104
• Conflict Defender Division (it steps in when the main office can't): 555 Fuller Ave, Helena, MT 59601, 406-604-7581
• Apply online: Montana public defender application

Justice Court appoints counsel once a person pleads not guilty or asks for help. The defendant then fills out an application with the public defender, and a fee may be charged later.

Most courts sit on Broadway near the county courthouse. The city court shares the Law and Justice Center on Fuller Avenue with police.

• First Judicial District Court (felonies). Its clerk's office is 228 Broadway, Room 104, Helena, MT 59624, 406-447-8215. Four district judges serve here, and the district reaches into Broadwater County too.
• Justice Court (misdemeanors and early felony hearings), 228 Broadway, Room 102, Helena, MT 59601, 406-447-8202.
• Helena Municipal Court (city cases), 406 Fuller Ave., Helena, MT 59601, 406-447-8466.
• East Helena City Court (town cases), 306 E. Main Street, Room 101, East Helena, MT 59635, 406-227-5321. Open court meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.
• Federal court, Paul G. Hatfield Federal Courthouse, 901 Front Street, Helena, MT 59626, 406-441-1355.

In most cases it does. Once the case closes and the defendant made every appearance, the court pays back cash bail (MCA 46-9-502). Under court rules, a bond can be returned only in the name of the depositor, so hold onto that receipt and your ID.

Skipping court changes things. A missed date allows a forfeiture order, and a notice is then mailed to the defendant and to each surety. The court has 10 working days to send it. A late notice voids the bond (MCA 46-9-503).

• A 90-day window follows. If the defendant comes back or shows a good reason, the judge may cancel the forfeiture.
• If the loss stands, a town or the county keeps lost misdemeanor money, and the state's general fund gets lost felony money (MCA 46-9-511).
• The judge may hand forfeited money to a crime victim (MCA 46-9-512).
• When a defendant is convicted, a commercial bond is freed for the agent within 30 days (MCA 46-9-121).

Ask the court that took the payment about a refund. For Justice Court, dial 406-447-8202.

Detention staff store most of a person's things from booking until release day. Anything seized as evidence stays with the case. Ask the jail at 406-447-8232 how the balance on the jail account reaches the person after release.

Some belongings go to the Sheriff's Property and Evidence Office to be kept safe. Those must be claimed within 10 days after release, or they can be disposed of. The office is in the Law and Justice Center, 406 Fuller Ave., Helena, MT 59602. Pickups are by appointment only, Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with a break from noon to 1:00 p.m. Call 406-447-8250 and bring photo ID. Our inmate money page has more about account balances.

Federal charges filed here belong to the Helena Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. Court is held at the Paul G. Hatfield Federal Courthouse, 901 Front Street, Helena, MT 59626. The clerk takes calls at 406-441-1355, weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• A detention hearing happens at the very first federal appearance. It can be put off for good cause: five days at most when the defense asks, three when the government asks (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Pretrial officers interview the defendant and send the judge a report. Their office is 901 Front Street, Suite 1200, Helena, MT 59626, 406-441-1160.
• Before trial, federal prisoners are in U.S. Marshals custody, often lodged in a county jail. Ask the Marshals at 406-200-6004 where the person is.
• Filings sit on PACER. For someone already in federal prison, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

It does. Paying the state bail leaves the immigration detainer in force. Here is what tends to happen:

1. Federal officers give the jail a detainer on ICE's Form I-247A.
2. Staff may then keep the person for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. State law makes officers act on the detainer and say so to the person held. Believable papers proving citizenship or lawful status end the hold (MCA 27-16-801).
4. ICE officers move the person to a site that reports to the Salt Lake City Field Office, 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200.
5. Search for them on the ICE Online Detainee Locator with the person's complete name plus the country of birth.

Felony time longer than one year is served under the Montana Department of Corrections. Most people sit in the county jail first, until the state finishes an assessment. Sheriff's transport officers then drive them to Montana State Prison, the women's prison, or a prerelease or treatment program the state picks.

• Type a name or state ID into the state offender search to track them.
• Our Montana state prisons guide describes visiting and mail at each prison.
• Questions for the state can go to the Department of Corrections at 406-444-3930.

A teen's case almost always goes to Youth Court, run by the same judges who hear adult felonies (MCA 41-5-203). Teens are kept apart from adults. A teen who must be held is driven to the regional youth center in Great Falls: Cascade County Juvenile Detention Center, 1600 26th Street S, Great Falls, MT 59405, 406-454-6930.

• Detained teens see a judge quickly. The probable cause hearing comes inside 24 hours, though weekend days and holidays are skipped (MCA 41-5-332).
• Bail is possible for a teen, and the judge has to think about what the parents can afford (MCA 41-5-323).
• Parents and close family visit by Zoom only. Phone the center for visit times.
• Call Juvenile Probation at 406-447-8228 to learn the court date and what comes next.