Prairie County Sheriff's Office Inmate Bail & Bonds

Deputies hand adults over to a jail some other county runs. The Sheriff's Office picks it, and the pick may not be the same every time. The office sits at 217 West Park Street, PO Box 126, Terry, MT 59349, and staff pick up 406-635-5738 from 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The closest county jails are listed below. Let the Sheriff's Office tell you which one before you load up the car:

• Fallon County Detention Center, 10 W. Fallon Ave., Baker, MT 59313, 406-778-2879
• Custer County Detention Center, 1010 Main Street, Miles City, MT 59301, 406-874-3301
• Dawson County jail, 440 Colorado Boulevard, Glendive, MT 59330, 406-377-7600

After closing time, the regional dispatchers answer at 406-232-3411.

Whichever judge handles the first hearing. Montana requires police to bring an arrested person "without unnecessary delay" before the closest judge available (MCA 46-7-101). Release gets decided at that very hearing (MCA 46-9-109). Video counts, so the defendant may never leave the jail building for it (MCA 46-9-206).

Locally, one Justice of the Peace takes misdemeanors and doubles as Terry's City Judge. Find that court at 217 West Park Street, PO Box 124, Terry, MT 59349, 406-635-4466. Phone before you show up, because its hours shift. Felony files go to the Seventh Judicial District, whose clerk is at 406-635-5575.

Every judge in the state must begin with the lightest terms that will still get a defendant to every hearing (MCA 46-9-108). Here is the menu:

• Own recognizance. A written vow to come back, with no dollars down (MCA 46-9-111).
• Rules only. Home release with limits, for example sobriety, a curfew, no weapons, or no contact with the alleged victim.
• Whole amount deposited. Someone pays the court the entire figure up front (MCA 46-9-401).
• Bondsman. A state-licensed agent guarantees the bail and keeps a fee.
• Land. In-state property with enough equity free of debt.
• Two sureties. A pair of qualified people co-sign a written undertaking with the defendant.
• Driver's license. Some traffic tickets let an officer keep the license instead of money.

Ankle monitors come into play too. Where one can be had, the law leans toward a monitor for repeat or felony partner assault, partner strangulation and felony stalking.

Each year the Montana Supreme Court approves a Recommended Bond Schedule, and lower courts may lean on it. Think of it as a starting point. Local judges can set more or less, and the listed figures fold in state surcharges. A handful of 2026 entries:

• Assault causing bodily injury (misdemeanor): $585, must appear before the judge
• Supplying alcohol to anyone under 21: $535, must appear
• Boating while impaired: $335
• Illegal gambling, first offense within 5 years: $535
• Insurance fraud up to $1,500: $285, must appear
• Homicide or any other felony: the chart gives no dollar figure, so the judge sets one

Certain charges skip the chart entirely. Booked for partner violence, strangling, stalking, or defying a stay-away order? Then no one can bail the person out until a judge weighs in (MCA 46-9-302). For the figure in your case, dial the Justice Court at 406-635-4466.

Locate the person, then learn the amount. State law lets a deputy or detention officer collect bail on a judge's behalf when the sum comes from a posted chart or appears on the warrant. You get a signed receipt (MCA 46-9-302). A simple order to follow:

1. Phone the Sheriff's Office, 406-635-5738, to learn the jail and the charge.
2. Phone that jail with the legal name and birth date. Get the bail figure for every count.
3. Ask if the case needs a judge's OK first. That is always true for partner assault and for breaking a protection order.
4. Get the place to pay, the payment kinds accepted right now, and the payee name.
5. Carry a photo ID. Tuck the receipt away with your important papers.

When the office is closed, dispatch answers at 406-232-3411.

In many cases, yes. Montana's court rules allow bail drawn from a judge's posted chart to be paid at that court's window on any working day during business hours. The chart hangs in that court's office.

• Justice Court and Terry City Court, 217 West Park Street, PO Box 124, Terry, MT 59349, 406-635-4466. Confirm the hours by phone.
• Clerk of District Court for felonies, 217 West Park Street, PO Box 125, Terry, MT 59349, 406-635-5575. Weekdays 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Ask the clerk two things first. Can this office accept bail on this particular case? How soon does word reach the jail once you pay?

Courts and jails each set their own payment habits. A quick call saves a wasted trip. Ask about:

• the figure for every charge, since each case has a separate bail
• the payment kinds the office takes
• the exact payee name
• any added fee
• whose name goes on the receipt, since only the depositor can claim a refund later

Questions for the Justice Court go to 406-635-4466. Questions for a jail go to the jail itself. If you aren't sure which jail, the Sheriff's Office at 406-635-5738 knows.

Bondsmen have a long name in the law: "surety bail bond insurance producer" (MCA 46-6-508). Every single one must be licensed (MCA 33-17-1601). The state's insurance office gives them out.

• You pay the agent a nonrefundable fee. In exchange, the agent stands behind the full bail.
• Agents often want collateral too, like a pickup title. Insist on written return terms.
• When a client misses a hearing, the agent can arrest them. In most cases local police get notice first (MCA 46-6-508).
• A surety bond covers court appearances only (MCA 46-9-503). Fines and restitution are separate debts.
• Check that the license is real with the NAIC licensee search ahead of signing.

Attorneys can't put up bail for anyone, and neither can officials allowed to release people (MCA 46-9-402).

It happens. Money posted on one charge can't free someone from a different one. Check for these first:

• Outside warrants. Starting in 2025, Montana judges may not set bail for a person jailed on a warrant from somewhere else (MCA 46-9-201).
• Extradition. Someone brought back from another state sees the issuing judge before any bail (MCA 46-9-105).
• Supervision. A judge counts current probation or parole against release (MCA 46-9-109).
• Stacked charges. Picked up on both a town ticket and a county charge? Expect two payments.
• Federal or ICE holds. Two later answers explain these.

Before paying, have the holding jail read off each hold. The Sheriff's Office at 406-635-5738 can name the jail.

Under the state constitution, nearly everyone has a right to bail. The lone exception is a death-penalty case in which "the proof is evident or the presumption great" (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 21). Excessive bail is banned outright (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 22).

Pretrial detention is still possible. A judge can order it after finding probable cause that no conditions would secure the defendant's return (MCA 46-9-106). The judge reviews the offense, criminal history, any earlier flight, the risk to others and local ties, and may lean on a scored risk report (MCA 46-9-109).

Prosecutors who argue for steep bail work at the Prairie County Attorney's Office, 217 West Park Street, PO Box 564, Terry, MT 59349, 406-635-4529.

Yes. Either lawyer can file. The court may raise bail, cut it, swap it or change its rules (MCA 46-9-311). Fair warning to the opposing lawyer is required.

1. The defense attorney puts the request in writing to the judge who has the case.
2. Collect paperwork: recent paychecks, rent or deed records, names of relatives close by, and a true list of what you can spare. Bail cannot be oppressive, and a defendant's finances count (MCA 46-9-301).
3. Propose terms that ease the judge's concerns. The county belongs to the statewide 24/7 Sobriety Program, which runs breath and drug testing.

To get on the calendar, phone 406-635-4466 for the Justice Court or 406-635-5575 for the felony clerk.

Lawyers come up right away, since the judge must explain counsel at the opening hearing (MCA 46-7-102). The state's defender office takes felony cases, misdemeanors that carry possible jail, and youth matters.

Income test (MCA 47-1-111): a household at 133% of the poverty level or lower passes. Earning more doesn't rule a person out if paying for a lawyer would hurt badly. Nobody can be refused just for holding a job or for making bail. Applicants sign a sworn financial form, and the judge approves the outcome.

• Glendive office, Region 3: 100 1/2 S. Merrill, Suite 3, Glendive, MT 59330, 406-987-6010
• Online form: AdvOPD application

No district judge is based in the county. The Seventh Judicial District stretches across Dawson, McCone, Richland and Wibaux counties as well, so the judge comes to town. Law and Motion is held the first Thursday of every month, 2:00 p.m., in the courthouse courtroom.

For remote appearances, the Clerk of District Court lists Zoom rooms, one of them for Tuesday Law and Motion. Phone 406-635-5575 to match your case to a date and a room. Clerks are barred from giving legal advice, so take strategy questions to an attorney.

Attend every hearing and the deposit returns when the case closes. The court returns a deposit to the person who made it (MCA 46-9-502). Refunds go only to the depositor's name, which is why that receipt matters.

Skipping a hearing lets the judge declare a forfeiture. Written notice to the defendant and every surety must go out within 10 working days. Without it, the bond is void (MCA 46-9-503).

• There is a 90-day window to produce the defendant or explain the absence and get the forfeiture lifted.
• When misdemeanor bail is forfeited, the local treasury keeps it. Forfeited felony money is sent to the state (MCA 46-9-511).
• A judge may steer forfeited bail to the victim (MCA 46-9-512).

Call the court that holds the money to start a refund. The Justice Court line is 406-635-4466.

Wallets, phones, clothes and any leftover account balance are kept by the jail that did the booking. Phone that jail before release day. Ask how the balance is refunded and what hours you can collect the property. Picking up on someone's behalf? Ask whether the jail needs their written OK, and carry your photo ID.

The Sheriff's Office at 406-635-5738 can confirm which jail had the person. For general background, read our inmate money guide.

For a federal case, the Billings Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana handles this county. Hearings take place at 2601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 1200, Billings, MT 59101, in the James F. Battin Federal Courthouse. Clerk's line: 406-247-7000, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Release is argued at the very first federal hearing. A lawyer can ask to delay it a few days (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Until trial, federal defendants answer to the U.S. Marshals Service, 2601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 2300, Billings, MT 59101, 406-200-6004. Call the Marshals to learn which jail has the person.
• A bail report goes to the judge from U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services. Its office is at 2601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 1300, Billings, MT 59101, 406-657-6287.
• PACER has the docket for a per-page fee.

No. An ICE detainer survives a state bail payment. The steps run like this:

1. The first move belongs to ICE: a detainer, Form I-247A, lands at the jail.
2. With that form, the jail can hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Montana law obliges officers to comply and to tell the detainee the reason. Credible papers showing citizenship or legal status end the duty (MCA 27-16-801).
4. Montana cases are run from the ICE field office in Utah, 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200. Prairie cases fall under its Billings check-in office, 2900 4th Avenue, Suite 205, Billings, MT 59101, 406-247-4083.
5. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator with the person's country of birth and full name.

Prison terms longer than a year go to the Montana Department of Corrections. The usual pattern is a wait in county jail for a state assessment, followed by a move to whatever placement fits, from prison to prerelease to treatment.

• Follow each move on the state offender search.
• We describe the prisons one by one in our Montana state prisons guide.
• Parole release is decided by the state's Board of Pardons and Parole, 1002 Hollenbeck Road, Deer Lodge, MT 59722, 406-846-1404.

Anyone younger than 18 is a youth under Montana law. Nearly every youth case is heard in Youth Court, which District Court runs (MCA 41-5-203). Adult jails can't keep a youth overnight for processing. Rural counties get an exception: up to 24 hours before a hearing, not counting weekends and holidays, as long as no adult can see or hear the youth (MCA 41-5-349).

• A detained youth sees a judge for probable cause within 24 hours, though Saturdays, Sundays and holidays don't count (MCA 41-5-332).
• Youth bail exists, and judges must factor in what parents can afford (MCA 41-5-323).
• Billings' Yellowstone County Youth Services Center serves the eastern region as needed.

Parents can reach the Sheriff's Office at 406-635-5738, or Youth Court, whose filings the district clerk handles at 406-635-5575, for the youth's location and court date.