Yes. The more serious the possible punishment, the higher the court:

• Justice Court. Misdemeanors from anywhere in the county start here. Sheriff's deputies file them, and so do state troopers, Fish, Wildlife and Parks wardens, the Department of Livestock and the Department of Transportation. Its core reach is crimes with up to 6 months or a $500 fine. Larger misdemeanors may be filed there or in District Court (MCA 3-10-303).
• Ennis City Court. Town ordinance cases and misdemeanors committed within Ennis land here (MCA 3-11-103).
• District Court. Any crime with a possible state prison term over a year is a felony, and felonies belong here (MCA 45-2-101).
• Youth Court. The district judge wears a second hat as the judge for most people under 18.

Felonies don't start in District Court, though. The first appearance, and any preliminary hearing, happen in Justice Court on the same floor.

• Justice Court, Second Floor, 103 W. Wallace St., Virginia City, MT 59755. Phone: 406-500-8347. Open court meets each Tuesday at 9:00 a.m., except on federal holidays.
• Clerk of District Court, Fifth Judicial District, in the same building at 103 W. Wallace St., Virginia City, MT 59755. Mail: P.O. Box 185, Virginia City, MT 59755. The district judge holds court here on Mondays. A public records computer sits in the clerk's office. To phone the clerk, call the courthouse.
• Ennis City Court, 328 West Main Street, Ennis, MT 59729. Mail: P.O. Box 147, Ennis, MT 59729. Phone: 406-682-7339.

Call before you set out, because work on a courthouse addition runs into mid-2028.

Ennis is the only town in the county with a court of its own. The judge who runs the Justice Court doubles as the Ennis city judge.

• Office hours are Mondays and every other Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed on holidays.
• People can join hearings from home by Zoom or GoTo Meeting, using links on the Ennis City Court page.
• The court wants every appearance confirmed by phone first, at 406-682-7339.
• The town's own attorney prosecutes the cases filed here.

None of the four towns in the county runs a police department, and only Ennis has a court. Charges from Sheridan, Twin Bridges, Virginia City and the open country go to the Justice Court, and the County Attorney prosecutes them. Most arrests are made by sheriff's deputies. Ennis and Twin Bridges both say on their town websites that the Sheriff's Office does their policing.

Cases from the Big Sky area can show up in Justice Court too. Madison and Gallatin counties have an agreement on deputy coverage there.

State law says the trip to a judge must happen "without unnecessary delay" (MCA 46-7-101). For most local arrests the Justice Court handles it, and video from the jail is common. Under MCA 46-7-102, the judge explains:

• each charge filed
• how pretrial release might work
• the right to a lawyer, with one provided at no cost to someone who can't afford it
• that they can stay quiet, and anything said may show up as evidence
• the loss of gun rights a conviction may bring
• on a felony complaint, the option of asking a judge whether probable cause exists

Bail or release is decided right then too (MCA 46-9-109).

Often, yes. The Clerk of District Court posts Zoom instructions for court appearances. In Justice Court, anyone may watch open court from afar, but a defendant who wants to take part by Zoom has to ask before the hearing, at 406-843-4237. In Ennis, the city court posts its own Zoom and GoTo Meeting links.

People in jail often appear on a screen from the jail. State law allows that for first appearances and bail hearings (MCA 46-7-101).

Who files depends on place. Outside Ennis, it is the County Attorney who files a misdemeanor, and the case goes to Justice Court. In Ennis, the town attorney files in City Court. Once the charge is read, the person answers it. Saying not guilty puts the case on track for trial, and either side can request six jurors (MCA 46-17-201).

Speed matters. The trial must start within 6 months of the plea. If it doesn't, the case is dismissed, though delays the defense asked for, or good cause, can extend the time (MCA 46-13-401). Penalties for some common charges:

• DUI, first time: jail from 24 hours to half a year, plus a fine of $600 to $1,000 (MCA 61-8-1007)
• Partner or family assault, first time: a day up to one year in jail, and $100 to $1,000 (MCA 45-5-206)
• Theft worth up to $1,500 (first or second offense): jail as long as 6 months, a fine as big as $1,500 (MCA 45-6-301)
• A misdemeanor whose law sets no penalty: no more than 6 months and $500 (MCA 46-18-212)

Ask the Justice Court clerk about deferral agreements, which have their own page on the court's site. Separately, deferring a misdemeanor sentence for as much as 12 months is an option, and finishing the terms can lead to dismissal (MCA 46-18-204).

A felony here usually goes through these stages:

1. Opening hearing. Justice Court sets bail.
2. Charging decision. A preliminary hearing in Justice Court can check the evidence for probable cause. The County Attorney can bypass it by filing a sworn request with the district judge, who may allow a formal charge called an information (MCA 46-11-201). A grand jury is rare and needs the district judge's order.
3. Arraignment. The person answers the charge in District Court (MCA 46-12-201).
4. Trial. The 12 jurors must reach a unanimous verdict. The jury can be waived if both sides agree in writing (MCA 46-16-110).
5. Sentencing. The judge sets the punishment once there is a guilty plea or verdict.

The district judge splits the week among Virginia City, Dillon and Boulder, with Mondays set aside for this county, so the calendar here is tight. The default felony maximum is 10 years and $50,000, unless another law sets a different penalty (MCA 46-18-213). For a first drug possession, the law presumes a deferred sentence (MCA 45-9-102).

Cases involving violence follow extra rules:

• No schedule bail. Some charges always need a judge before release: stalking, partner or family assault, partner strangulation, and breaking a court's protective or no-contact order (MCA 46-9-302).
• Climbing penalties. By the third partner or family assault, the charge can carry up to 5 years (MCA 45-5-206).
• Ankle monitors. They are the expected condition in felony stalking and in some partner assault cases, if a device exists locally (MCA 46-9-108).
• The victim's voice. In a felony, or any case with an injury or a threat of one, the prosecutor talks to the victim first about dismissal, plea deals and release (MCA 46-24-104).
• Jail until trial. Only possible death penalty cases lose the right to bail, yet a judge may still hold someone if nothing else will secure their return (MCA 46-9-106).

The County Attorney prosecutes felonies and county misdemeanors from the county Annex, 103 W. Wallace Street, Virginia City, MT 59755. Its mailing address is P.O. Box 73, Virginia City, MT 59755, and the phone is 406-898-5176. Public records requests also go to this office.

The state public defender serves the county from Butte: Office of State Public Defender, 44 W. Park, Butte, MT 59701, 406-496-6680. Its lawyers take felony cases, misdemeanors with a jail risk, and youth matters. A person in custody gives the signed form to a detention officer, and others take it to the Justice Court within 24 hours with a financial affidavit. The form is on the county's public defender page, and the state takes applications at advopd.mt.gov. The court reviews who qualifies (MCA 47-1-111).

Montana's courts run two free search sites. A felony case can be found on the District Court portal. For a Justice Court or Ennis City Court case, use the limited court portal. A name or a case number works on either.

Youth and sealed cases stay hidden. If a case is hard to find, phone the court. The Justice Court is at 406-500-8347, and Ennis City Court is at 406-682-7339. For a felony date, ask for the Clerk of District Court when you call the courthouse, or use the public computer in the clerk's office. Callers should know the full legal name and birth date.

In this county, sheriff's deputies serve every warrant, because no town keeps a police force. A call to the Sheriff's Office, 406-843-5301, at any hour, is the way to ask whether one has been issued. Two free state sites let you search cases that are already filed: one for felonies in District Court and one for justice and city court cases. The Montana offender search labels people who escaped custody or ran from probation or parole. Anyone facing a warrant should get legal advice first. A lawyer can set up a surrender with deputies or ask the issuing court for a fresh date. Misdemeanor warrants usually come from the Justice Court, 406-500-8347, and felony ones from District Court.

The federal court for this area is the Butte Division, Mike Mansfield Federal Courthouse, 400 N. Main Street, Suite 273, Butte, MT 59701, 406-497-1279. The clerk's office is open weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• There is a detention hearing at the very first appearance, where a federal judge decides on release before trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Federal prisoners are guarded and transported by the U.S. Marshals Service, which keeps a Butte office at 400 North Main Street, Room 257, Butte, MT 59701, open during court terms. The main line is 406-200-6004.
• U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, with a Butte office in the same building, prepares background reports for the judge, 406-441-1160.
• Read filings on PACER. After sentencing, the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator gives the person's location.

Nothing changes in the state case itself. The detainer matters at release time. ICE uses Form I-247A to ask that the jail hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, giving agents time to arrive (8 CFR 287.7(d)).

1. Montana officers who have the detainer must arrest and give the person the reason (MCA 27-16-801).
2. Real proof of citizenship or lawful status rules out a hold.
3. Since a 2025 change, police making a lawful stop can try, within reason, to find out whether the person is lawfully present (MCA 46-5-401).
4. Next, the person is moved under ICE's Salt Lake City Field Office, 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200.
5. The ICE Online Detainee Locator can show where they went.

State prison time is managed by the Montana Department of Corrections. Right after sentencing, the person usually waits in a local jail while the state completes an assessment. Placement comes next. Options run from treatment programs and prerelease centers to the state's prisons, including Montana State Prison, 400 Conley Lake Road, Deer Lodge, MT 59722, and Montana Women's Prison, 701 South 27th Street, Billings, MT 59101.

• Dialing 406-846-1404 reaches the Board of Pardons and Parole, which rules on parole.
• The Montana offender search lists where a person is and their status.
• For visiting and mail at each prison, read our Montana state prisons guide.

For anyone under 18, the district judge usually hears the case as Youth Court (MCA 41-5-203). Justice Court may take a few youth matters instead: traffic, fish and game, gambling and tobacco. Records from Youth Court are kept out of the public portals.

• A youth who is detained gets a probable cause hearing on a short clock, 24 hours counted on workdays only (MCA 41-5-332).
• In the most serious cases, a youth as young as 12 may be sent to adult court on the County Attorney's motion (MCA 41-5-206).
• Youths committed to the state for a long stay go to Pine Hills, in Miles City.
• State prisons can't take anyone below age 16.

Juvenile Probation has weekday hours on the Second Floor, 100 W. Wallace St., Virginia City, MT 59755. For a probation officer, call the courthouse.

• A Victim Advocate works in the County Attorney's office. Call 406-898-5176 and ask for the advocate.
• The jail must tell the alleged victim when someone is let out on bail in a partner assault, choking, stalking or protection order case (MCA 46-9-108).
• VINE, a free alert service, covers state felony offenders. Sign up by phone at 800-456-3076 or online through VINELink.
• The state can repay victims up to $25,000 for costs from a crime through its compensation fund, 800-498-6455.

An appeal is possible, but the clock is short: 10 days from the judgment after trial (MCA 46-17-311). The route depends on whether that court is a court of record. Without a record, District Court starts over with a new trial, and six jurors can be requested. With it, District Court looks over the existing record. Ask the clerk which applies, and get a lawyer involved early.

The Justice Court page lists forms, a fee schedule, a resource sheet from Montana Legal Services and a link to a self-help law program. The Clerk of District Court refers people without a lawyer to the Gallatin County Self Help Program at 406-582-2158.

Most filings in District Court must be made online, but people without a lawyer are among those who may file on paper. Ask the clerk before you file.