How serious the crime is picks the courtroom:

• Justice Court gets misdemeanors from anywhere in the county. On its own, it can try crimes that carry no more than half a year in jail or a $500 fine. Larger misdemeanors it shares with District Court, and its fish and game cases can run to $1,000 (MCA 3-10-303).
• City Court rules on breaks of the Town of Circle's own ordinances (MCA 3-11-103). Here, the same judge wears both hats.
• District Court is where felonies are tried. In Montana, any crime that could bring more than one year in state prison is a felony (MCA 45-2-101).
• Youth Court handles kids under 18. A district judge presides.

Most felony cases still begin in Justice Court. Bail gets set there at the first hearing, and later the file is sent up.

Circle is the county's lone incorporated town. It has about 590 residents, out of roughly 1,720 countywide (Census estimate for July 1, 2025). The state court locator lists a single "Justice of the Peace/City Judge" here. Montana permits the pairing, and lots of small courts work the same way.

• Office: 1004 C Ave., Circle, MT 59215
• Mailing: Box 192 at the Circle post office, ZIP 59215
• Open Tuesday and Wednesday, 9 AM to noon

Those hours matter. A family hunting for a court date, a bail figure or a copy of a paper should phone during one of those two mornings. In Montana, justice and city judges need no law degree. They do have to pass a state exam every term and sit through two trainings a year.

Both local courts share the C Avenue building. Each office has its own phone and mailbox:

• Clerk of District Court, Seventh Judicial District, 1004 C Ave., Circle, MT 59215, 406-485-3410. Letters go to Box 199 at the same post office. Call for days the district judge will hear cases.
• Justice of the Peace and City Judge, same building, 406-485-3548, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.
• District judges' chambers are out of the county: 207 W. Bell St., Glendive, MT 59330, 406-377-2666, and 300 12th Ave NW, Suite 2, Sidney, MT 59270, 406-433-5939.

Whoever can't make bail is boarded in some other county. The spot can vary. Deputies and dispatch at 406-485-3405 know where each person went. Jails within a few hours' drive:

• Dawson County Correctional Facility in Glendive, 406-377-7600
• Richland County Jail in Sidney, 406-433-2919
• Valley County's jail in Glasgow, 406-228-4333
• Roosevelt County's jail in Wolf Point, 406-653-6230

Distance doesn't stall the case. A judge may hold the opening hearing with the person on a two-way video screen (MCA 46-7-101).

Officers must bring each person they arrest before a close-by judge "without unnecessary delay" (MCA 46-7-101). At that hearing, the judge must spell out (MCA 46-7-102):

• each charge
• the right to a lawyer, and to a free one when money is short
• in broad terms, how release before trial can happen
• the right to stay silent, since their words can be used as evidence
• that a guilty finding may cost them their guns
• in felony complaint cases, that probable cause can be put to a judge

Release or bail is settled at this same hearing (MCA 46-9-109).

Misdemeanors start with a written complaint, which the County Attorney files in Justice Court. Next comes the plea. Pleading not guilty puts a trial on the calendar. Either lawyer may ask for six jurors (MCA 46-17-201).

The trial clock is 6 months from the plea. If the state misses it, the case is dismissed for good. Exceptions: the defendant asked for the delay, or the judge finds good cause (MCA 46-13-401). Sample penalties:

• A first DUI: a jail stay between 24 hours and 6 months, plus a fine of $600 to $1,000 (MCA 61-8-1007)
• Stealing $1,500 or less: up to 6 months, up to $1,500 (MCA 45-6-301)
• Assaulting a partner or relative, first offense: at least 24 hours and no more than one year, with $100 to $1,000 in fines (MCA 45-5-206)
• Any misdemeanor whose law names no penalty: 6 months and $500 at the most (MCA 46-18-212)

A misdemeanor sentence can be deferred, or put on hold, for a year or less. Following every rule during that time can end in the charge being dropped (MCA 46-18-204). An appeal has a 10-day deadline after judgment (MCA 46-17-311). Ask the court if your appeal would be a fresh trial before the district judge.

Felony cases follow a set path:

1. Opening hearing. This is usually in Justice Court, which sets bail.
2. Formal charge. A probable cause hearing may take place in Justice Court (MCA 46-10-105). Or the County Attorney can go straight to District Court and get the judge's OK to file an "information." That word means the written felony charge (MCA 46-11-201). A grand jury is rare and meets only if the district judge orders it.
3. Arraignment. In District Court, the person hears the charge and enters a plea (MCA 46-12-201).
4. Trial. A felony jury has 12 seats. Both sides can sign away that jury in writing (MCA 46-16-110). Every juror must vote the same way.
5. Sentencing. The judge imposes a sentence once guilt is pleaded or proven.

If a crime's own law sets no penalty, a felony can bring a state prison term of 10 years or less and a fine reaching $50,000 (MCA 46-18-213). Stealing over $1,500 is punishable by as much as 10 years. Holding illegal drugs can mean 5 years. First-time drug possession comes with a legal starting point of a deferred sentence (MCA 45-9-102).

Felonies here go to the Seventh Judicial District Court. Its judges serve five counties: Dawson, McCone, Prairie, Richland and Wibaux (MCA 3-5-101). Their chambers are in Glendive and Sidney, not in this county.

So hearing days can be far apart. The Clerk of District Court in Circle, 406-485-3410, keeps the felony files and knows the next setting. If a hearing ends up in another county's courthouse, the clerk can say where.

Yes. Hurting or threatening someone changes the rules in five ways:

• Jail before trial. Only a capital charge with strong proof lets a judge flatly deny bail. Still, if no conditions would protect others, the judge can order the person held (MCA 46-9-106).
• Family and dating cases. Someone booked for harming or strangling a partner or family member stays put until a judge sees them. On the third conviction, partner assault becomes a felony worth up to 5 years (MCA 45-5-206).
• Ankle monitors. The law leans toward electronic monitoring, when available, for felony stalking or a felony assault on a partner (MCA 46-9-108).
• Victim alerts. Release triggers a quick warning from the jail to the alleged victim.
• No second deferral. Anyone with a felony on their record already is barred from a deferred felony sentence (MCA 46-18-201).

On the state's side is the McCone County Attorney. Write to P.O. Box 58, Circle, MT 59215, phone 406-485-3530, or email mcconecountyattorney@mt.gov. Should that office be unable to handle a case for conflict reasons, the Attorney General's prosecutors may take over, 406-444-2026.

On the defense side, Montana's public defender covers felonies, any misdemeanor that might lead to jail, and youth court. Whether someone qualifies is up to the court, which reviews a money form signed under oath (MCA 47-1-111).

• Glendive public defender office: 100 1/2 S. Merrill, Suite 3, Glendive, MT 59330, 406-987-6010
• Conflict defenders for this region: 208 N. Broadway, Suite 414, Billings, MT 59101, 406-247-4857
• Apply at the OPD online application

Montana offers two free record portals. Search either one with a person's name or the case number:

• Justice and city court records
• District Court records for felony files

Juvenile matters and sealed cases are left out of the portals. To learn a misdemeanor date, ring the Justice Court at 406-485-3548 during its Tuesday or Wednesday hours. Felony dates come from the district clerk, 406-485-3410. Have the full name and birthday ready. The state also sells a name-based criminal history check through its CHOPRS search, at $20 a record.

Warrants in this county are carried out by sheriff's deputies. Dispatch at 406-485-3405 answers warrant questions around the clock. State escapees and probation or parole absconders carry a wanted status on the DOC offender search. Filed cases show up on the state's lower court portal and its District Court portal. Before you act, get advice from a lawyer. After that, either ask the issuing court for a new court date or set up a time with deputies to surrender. A felony warrant can also be raised with the district clerk at 406-485-3410.

A federal case from here is filed in the Billings Division, the part of federal court that covers this corner of the state. Its clerk's office, in the Battin federal building, is at 2601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 1200, Billings, MT 59101, 406-247-7000. Hours are weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Whether a defendant goes home before trial is decided at the first federal hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Custody and transport of federal defendants fall to the U.S. Marshals Service. Billings office: 2601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 2300, Billings, MT 59101, 406-200-6004.
• U.S. Pretrial Services prepares release reports from Suite 1300 in the same building, 406-657-6287.
• Federal files are on PACER. After sentencing, try the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

A detainer leaves the state case alone but changes what happens on release day. Through Form I-247A, immigration agents want the jail to hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, giving ICE time to collect them (8 CFR 287.7(d)).

1. State law makes the arrest mandatory once officers hold a detainer, and the person must be told about it (MCA 27-16-801).
2. The duty ends when the person shows believable documents of citizenship or legal status.
3. A 2025 law lets officers who have lawfully stopped someone ask about immigration status (MCA 46-5-401).
4. ICE's Billings check-in office serves this county: 2900 4th Avenue, Suite 205, Billings, MT 59101, 406-247-4083. Montana cases belong to the Salt Lake City Field Office, 801-736-1200.
5. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator by name and birth country.

A prison term places the person with the Montana Department of Corrections. Staff first review them while they sit in a county jail. Placement follows: prison, prerelease or a treatment program, whichever suits them. One state contract prison is close by: the Dawson County Correctional Facility in Glendive.

• See where the person is placed using the Montana offender search.
• Every state lockup has a profile in our Montana state prisons guide.
• Parole is up to a state board, the Board of Pardons and Parole, 1002 Hollenbeck Road, Deer Lodge, MT 59722, 406-846-1404.

Cases about anyone under 18 go to Youth Court, which a district judge runs (MCA 41-5-203). Juvenile records never appear on the public court portals.

• A youth in a locked unit gets a judge's look at probable cause fast. The limit is 24 hours, and the count skips weekends and holidays (MCA 41-5-332).
• For a short list of grave crimes, the County Attorney may ask that a 12-year-old or older be tried as an adult (MCA 41-5-206).
• Montana bars anyone younger than 16 from state prison.
• Youths sent to the state for a long stay may end up at Pine Hills Correctional Facility, 4 North Haynes Avenue, Miles City, MT 59301, 406-232-1377.

Parents can ask the juvenile probation officer for Richland and McCone counties, at 406-433-3011, where their child is and when court will be.

The County Attorney, 406-485-3530, gives victims updates on the case.

• Before a dismissal, plea bargain or release, the County Attorney must hear from the victim. That rule covers felonies plus misdemeanors that hurt or threatened someone (MCA 46-24-104).
• Forms to ask for an order of protection are on the state's victim forms page.
• For a state felony offender, register with VINE for custody notices by phone at 800-456-3076 or online through VINELink. Nobody is signed up automatically.
• Crime costs, up to $25,000, may be repaid by the state's victim compensation fund. The crime must be reported in 72 hours, and the claim filed in a year. Call 800-498-6455.