Pondera County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

A judge. State law says an arrested person is taken to a nearby judge, one who is easy to reach, "without unnecessary delay" (MCA 46-7-101). That judge picks jail or release right at the first hearing (MCA 46-9-109). Some first hearings happen in person. Others use a two-way video hookup from the jail (MCA 46-9-206).

In this county, one person wears three robes. The same judge runs the Justice Court plus the Conrad and Valier city courts. Find that office upstairs at 20 4th Avenue SW, Suite 311, Conrad, MT 59425, or phone 406-271-4030. Staff answer from 8:00 a.m. until noon and from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. on weekdays. A felony that climbs to District Court keeps its bail, though the district judge may change the amount (MCA 46-9-201).

By law, the judge starts with the gentlest option that will still get the person back for court (MCA 46-9-108). The options look like this:

• Own recognizance. No money at all. Their word, in writing, is the bail (MCA 46-9-111).
• Conditions. Home on rules the judge writes, like being in by a set hour, staying sober, turning in guns, or no contact with an alleged victim or witness.
• Cash. Someone pays the court the entire figure. The court sits on that money until the final hearing.
• Commercial bond. You pay a licensed agent, who then stands behind the full amount.
• Real estate. A Montana property with enough equity, meaning value beyond any loan, may be offered (MCA 46-9-401).
• Personal sureties. The defendant plus two people with solid finances sign a written promise.
• A license. On certain driving charges, the officer may keep the driver's license in place of cash.

An alcohol monitor is another tool the judge may order. In a felony stalking case, or a second or felony partner assault, state law tilts toward a GPS ankle bracelet when the county can supply one.

Judges in justice and city courts often glance at a statewide price list. It is the Recommended Bond Schedule, written by the Montana Supreme Court. Think of it as advice, since a judge here is free to pick a bigger or smaller number. State surcharges are already added in. Some figures from the 2026 version:

• Simple assault where someone was hurt: $585, with a mandatory court visit
• Supplying beer or liquor to someone under 21: $535, mandatory court visit
• Operating a boat while impaired: $335
• Illegal gambling, the first time in five years: $535
• Insurance fraud of $1,500 or less: $285, mandatory court visit
• Felonies: left blank, so the judge chooses

Some charges skip the schedule completely. The list: hurting a partner or family member, strangling one, stalking, or disobeying a court order to stay away. Nobody charged with those can buy their way out before a judge hears it (MCA 46-9-302). Phone the Justice Court at 406-271-4030 for the real number in your case.

Often, yes. Jail staff may collect bail for the judge. The figure must come from a posted schedule or be written on the warrant. You must get a signed receipt (MCA 46-9-302). The jail shares Suite 109 with the Sheriff's Office at 20 4th Avenue SW, Conrad, MT 59425. Work through this list:

1. Call 406-271-4060 before leaving the house.
2. Give the full legal name, spelled out, plus date of birth. Ask the amount and what charge it is tied to.
3. Ask when staff can take bail, which payments they accept today, and how to fill in a check.
4. Find out if the judge has to see the person before anyone can pay.
5. Bring ID with your photo, plus the precise amount. Keep the signed receipt until the case is over.

Pay bail in person to the jail or a court clerk, or work through a licensed bail agent.

Yes. Under statewide court rules, a person may pay schedule bail right to the clerk, during business hours, any day the court is open. Each court must hang its schedule in its office.

• Justice Court, also the clerk for Conrad and Valier city cases: 20 4th Avenue SW, Suite 311, Conrad, MT 59425, 406-271-4030. Weekdays 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
• Clerk of District Court, where felony bail goes: 20 4th Avenue SW, Suite 301, Conrad, MT 59425, 406-271-4026. Weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Phone first. Ask the total and how the clerk wants it paid. Also ask how soon the jail frees the person after the payment clears.

It depends on the office and the day, so ask the jail or the clerk before you head out. Most families find exact cash or a money order the least trouble. Ask who a check should be payable to.

For ticket fines, the Justice Court steers people online to CitePay, a card payment site. That tool is for fines. Before using it to free someone from jail, ask the court if bail can go through it.

Keep cash out of the mail. Be wary of strangers who phone and demand gift cards, crypto or app transfers. Real jails, courts and licensed agents don't work that way. If a call seems off, check it with the Sheriff's Office at 406-271-4060.

That is up to the family. On paper, Montana calls the bondsman a "surety bail bond insurance producer." Families just say bail agent. The Commissioner of Securities and Insurance must license each one before they can write bonds (MCA 33-17-1601). Know these points before you sign:

• You won't see the fee again, even if charges are dropped. For that fee, the agent backs the full bail.
• Expect a request for collateral, maybe the title to a pickup or a trailer. Get the agent to sign a note saying when you get it back.
• If the person ducks a court date, the agent may arrest them and deliver them to the court or jail. Except in emergencies, the agent calls local police first (MCA 46-6-508).
• The bond is only about showing up. It won't cover fines or restitution (MCA 46-9-503).
• Look the agent up on the NAIC license search first.

Each bail is tied to one case. Something else may be holding the person:

• A warrant from elsewhere. Since a 2025 law, a local judge must leave bail alone when another court's warrant is the reason for the hold (MCA 46-9-201).
• Extradition. A person returned from another state must first face the judge whose name is on the warrant (MCA 46-9-105).
• Supervision. Being on probation or parole already weighs on the release decision (MCA 46-9-109).
• Two cases. A Conrad city ticket and a county charge are separate, and both need bail.
• Federal, tribal or ICE holds. Each has its own answer below.

Ask the jail at 406-271-4060 to go through all holds with you before any money changes hands.

It is rare. Montana's constitution gives everyone bail unless the crime could bring a death sentence and "the proof is evident or the presumption great" (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 21). It also outlaws bail set so high it is excessive (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 22).

Even so, a person can be kept locked up until trial. A judge may order this when the judge has probable cause to fear that no safeguard, however strict, would get them back to court (MCA 46-9-106). The judge thinks about the charge, criminal history, any time the person ran from court, whether others could be hurt, and how many years the person has called this area home. A scored risk report may also play a part (MCA 46-9-109).

The prosecutor who might push for a high amount or none is the County Attorney, 20 4th Avenue SW, Suite 315, Conrad, MT 59425, 406-271-4050.

Yes. The defense or the prosecutor can file to change the amount, swap one type of bail for another, or adjust the rules. The other side gets fair warning of the request (MCA 46-9-311).

1. Have the lawyer file a request with the court where the case sits.
2. Collect pay stubs, a lease or deed, and proof of family close by. The law forbids oppressive bail and says the amount should respect the person's money situation (MCA 46-9-301).
3. Offer fixes for the judge's concerns, like alcohol testing, a curfew or a job check.

Ask the Justice Court clerk at 406-271-4030 how to get a hearing scheduled. On a felony, the Clerk of District Court can help at 406-271-4026.

It is, for people who can't pay one. Appointed counsel is one of the topics the judge must raise at the opening hearing (MCA 46-7-102). Public defenders in Montana represent youths, people facing felonies, and those charged with misdemeanors that could put someone behind bars.

Income is the first test. A household passes if what it earns is 133% of the federal poverty guideline or lower. So do people for whom a private lawyer would mean real hardship. A judge can't turn someone down only because they posted bail or have work (MCA 47-1-111). Applicants list their income and assets under oath, and a judge looks the form over.

• Great Falls office, Region 2: 615 2nd Ave. N., Great Falls, MT 59403, 406-770-3200
• Apply online through advopd.mt.gov
• Learn more at the Montana Public Defender site

Nearly everything happens under one roof in Conrad. Check the suite before you climb the stairs:

• Ninth Judicial District Court, for felonies. Its clerk is at 20 4th Avenue SW, Suite 301, Conrad, MT 59425, 406-271-4026. This district judge rides a circuit that takes in Glacier, Teton and Toole counties as well.
• Justice Court, for misdemeanors and the start of felony cases: 20 4th Avenue SW, Suite 311, Conrad, MT 59425, 406-271-4030.
• Conrad City Court, for crimes in town: City Hall, 413 South Main Street, Conrad, MT 59425. Valier's town court shares this same judge.
• U.S. District Court, for federal charges: Missouri River Federal Courthouse, 125 Central Avenue West, Suite 110, Great Falls, MT 59404, 406-727-1922.

Partly, yes. A county resolution from January 2023 gives $75.00 of credit for each day a person sits in the county jail. That credit can be used against a fine.

The same resolution puts the cost of medicine, doctor care and hospital stays during custody on the inmate. The County Attorney collects those bills. Ask the lawyer or the court how the daily credit plays out in your case.

Show up to every hearing and the cash comes home when the case closes (MCA 46-9-502). Court rules allow the refund to be paid only to whoever deposited it. Save the receipt and bring ID.

A skipped hearing can cost the bail. The judge may declare it forfeited, but the court then owes the defendant and each surety a mailed notice. If 10 working days pass with no notice, the bond is void (MCA 46-9-503).

• There is a grace period of 90 days. If the person comes back or offers a solid excuse in that stretch, the forfeit can be lifted by the judge.
• On a misdemeanor, lost cash goes into the treasury of the town or county that collected it. On a felony, the state keeps it (MCA 46-9-511).
• The judge also has the power to steer forfeited bail to whoever the crime harmed (MCA 46-9-512).

Refund questions go to the court that took the payment. The Justice Court line is 406-271-4030.

Ask about money and items before release day if you can. Whatever the person had in their pockets at booking is stored at the jail in Suite 109. Call 406-271-4060 to learn how leftover account money comes back and what time to pick up belongings.

Have a photo ID with you. Picking up for someone else? Ask staff if a signed note from that person is needed. Our guide to jail accounts covers deposits and refunds in general terms.

Pondera County sits in the Great Falls Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. Great Falls hosts that court, in the Missouri River Federal Courthouse at 125 Central Avenue West, Suite 110, Great Falls, MT 59404, 406-727-1922. The clerk is open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• A federal judge settles detention at the first court date. A side can ask for a pause of a few days (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Federal defendants waiting on trial answer to the U.S. Marshals Service. The agency's Billings headquarters, which covers all of Montana, takes calls at 406-200-6004.
• Ask the Marshals which jail is holding the person.
• Before that hearing, a pretrial officer gathers facts about the person for the judge. That officer works out of Great Falls for U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, which you can call at 406-453-4461.

Look up filings on PACER, which bills by the page.

Yes. State bail does nothing to an immigration hold. Here is how it tends to unfold:

1. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sends a detainer, Form I-247A, to the jail.
2. Conrad's jail is then allowed to hold them for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Montana law makes local officers honor it and explain the reason. Anyone who hands over believable papers proving citizenship or legal presence goes free from the hold (MCA 27-16-801).
4. ICE officers then take over. Montana falls under the agency's Salt Lake City Field Office, 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200.
5. On the ICE Online Detainee Locator, type the person's complete name and their birth country.

A felony term served in state custody is run by the Montana Department of Corrections. The person usually sits in the county jail first while state workers evaluate them. After that comes a move to a prison, prerelease or treatment setting.

• Track them on the offender search, which shows place and status.
• Read about every Montana lockup run for the state in our Montana state prisons guide. The closest to home is Crossroads Correctional Center, a short drive north in Shelby.
• Early release on parole is a decision for the Board of Pardons and Parole, whose office is in Deer Lodge, 406-846-1404.

Heart Butte and the county's northwest corner sit inside the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The officers who patrol that land belong to Bureau of Indian Affairs Law Enforcement in Browning. Reach them at 406-338-4000 or 1204 SW Boundary St., Browning, MT 59417.

The Blackfeet Nation keeps a tribal court of its own. Who handles a case, and where the person is held, can turn on the details. Start by asking BIA Law Enforcement who has your loved one and where. If a county deputy did the arresting, phone the Sheriff's Office at 406-271-4060 instead.

In Montana, a person under 18 is called a youth. Most youth charges are heard in Youth Court, run by the district judge (MCA 41-5-203). A teen who needs a locked bed goes to Great Falls. That center, the Cascade County Juvenile Detention Center, sits at 1600 26th Street S, Great Falls, MT 59405, 406-454-6930. It serves kids ages 10 to 18 from across this region.

• Once a teen is placed in detention, the judge has 24 hours to look at probable cause. The count skips weekend days and legal holidays (MCA 41-5-332).
• Bail is possible for youths too, with the parents' means in mind (MCA 41-5-323).
• Juvenile probation works from Suite 309 of the courthouse, 406-271-4035, Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.