Rosebud County Detention Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

Only a judge can. Officers have to take anyone they arrest to the nearest reachable judge "without unnecessary delay" (MCA 46-7-101). That judge settles release on the spot (MCA 46-9-109), either face to face or over a video screen from the jail (MCA 46-9-206).

Deputies and state troopers usually send their cases to the Justice Court, 406-346-2638, where felony cases also get their first hearing. The two towns run courts of their own:

• Forsyth City Court: PO Box 226, Forsyth, MT 59327, 406-346-2525
• Colstrip City Court: 12 Cherry St., Colstrip, MT 59323, 406-748-2300. Citations written by Colstrip police belong here, since Justice Court won't take them.

Should the case climb to District Court as a felony, the same bail rides along, though the new judge may change it (MCA 46-9-201).

State law says judges must reach first for the lightest choice that keeps a defendant showing up (MCA 46-9-108). From lightest to heaviest:

• A signed promise. Known as own recognizance. Nothing is paid (MCA 46-9-111).
• Rules at home. Curfews, sobriety, handing over guns, reporting in, or staying away from someone.
• A cash deposit. The court holds every dollar of the bail until the case closes.
• Personal sureties. Two people sign, promising the court the full sum.
• A bondsman. A licensed agent guarantees the amount in exchange for a fee.
• Real estate. Montana property with paid-off value can back the bail (MCA 46-9-401).
• A license. On certain traffic charges, the driver's license is held in place of money.

In felony stalking and the gravest partner assault cases, Montana law presumes electronic monitoring where it can be arranged.

The quickest clue is the Sheriff's inmate list, which prints the bond right next to the charges. The October 28, 2026 list showed amounts between $3,000 and $150,000, while three people had "no bond."

For lower-level crimes, judges may check the 2026 Recommended Bond Schedule from the state's high court. Local judges can go above or below it. Its figures fold in state surcharges. Samples:

• Assault causing bodily injury, a misdemeanor: $585, court date required
• Operating a boat while impaired: $335
• Unlawful gambling: $535, then $750 on a second offense within 5 years, then $1,500
• Homicide and the other felonies listed: left blank for the judge to decide

Five charges skip the schedule and go straight to a judge: assaulting a family member or partner, strangling a partner, stalking, and disobeying a protection order or no-contact order (MCA 46-9-302). The court that holds the case can tell you the real figure.

Jail staff work out of the Sheriff's Office at 180 S 13th Ave, Forsyth, MT 59327. Montana allows staff to take bail for a judge only when a schedule sets the figure, or the figure is written on the warrant itself. Ask for a signed receipt each time (MCA 46-9-302). Work through this list:

1. Phone 406-346-2715. Dispatch answers every call and may have a deputy ring you back.
2. Say the person's legal name slowly and share their birth date. Then ask for the bail on every charge.
3. Check which payment types are allowed today. Money orders need the right payee, so get the exact wording.
4. Ask if the case requires a judge's hearing before release, as every partner assault case does.
5. Set a time to come in. Carry photo ID and the exact bail.
6. Keep the receipt safe until the case ends.

Yes, in many cases. The state's court rules allow schedule bail to be handed to the court clerk during office hours on court days. Each court tapes up its own schedule. Phone ahead to confirm the window is open:

• Justice Court: PO Box 504, Forsyth, MT 59327, 406-346-2638
• Forsyth City Court: 406-346-2525
• Colstrip City Court: City Hall, 12 Cherry St., Colstrip, MT 59323, 406-748-2300
• Clerk of District Court for felony cases: PO Box 48, Forsyth, MT 59327, 406-346-7322, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

On the call, get the amount and the payment types. Also ask how long release takes once the court has the money.

Rules differ by office, so ask the jail or the court that set the bail. Jot down the date and the name of whoever you spoke with.

Two courts link card payments for tickets on their websites:

• Justice Court fine payments
• Colstrip City Court fine payments

Those are meant for a ticket's fine. For bail on someone sitting in jail, ring the jail at 406-346-2715 before sending anything. Cash in an envelope can vanish, so don't mail it. Scammers sometimes call families demanding payment by gift card, crypto or a phone app. Hang up and phone the jail directly.

When the family can't raise the full sum, an agent can step in. Their title in state law is long: "surety bail bond insurance producer." Every agent must hold a license issued through Montana's Commissioner of Securities and Insurance (MCA 33-17-1601).

• The family pays a fee up front. If the person flees, the agent owes the court the whole bail. That fee is gone for good, even when the case goes well.
• A bondsman may also want collateral, like the title to a pickup. Ask for a written promise about getting it back.
• Should the client vanish before a hearing, the bondsman can arrest them. Local police usually get a warning call first (MCA 46-6-508).
• This kind of bond guards court appearances only. Fines and restitution are off limits to it (MCA 46-9-503).
• Confirm the license on the national insurance licensee search first.

Bail is tied to one case. A second reason to hold the person can still keep the cell door shut:

• A warrant from somewhere else. A 2025 law stops judges here from bailing out a person held for another court (MCA 46-9-201).
• Extradition. Someone returned from another state must face the judge who signed the warrant first (MCA 46-9-105).
• Corrections. The Sheriff's list keeps a separate group for Department of Corrections holds, which can involve probation or parole.
• Federal custody. Another group on that list is for federal holds.
• Two courts. Charges in Colstrip City Court and in Justice Court are bailed one at a time.

Before paying, call 406-346-2715 and have staff read off every hold.

It can happen, though not often. The state constitution promises bail to all, with one exception: a crime that could bring death when "the proof is evident or the presumption great" (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 21). Excessive bail is forbidden as well (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 22).

A judge may also keep someone locked up before trial when no set of conditions would reliably bring them to court (MCA 46-9-106). The judge looks at the crime itself, past convictions, any history of running or skipping court, danger to others, and years spent living in the area. A risk scoring tool can be part of it (MCA 46-9-109).

The prosecutor asking for steep bail or none at all is the County Attorney, PO Box 69, Forsyth, MT 59327, 406-346-2236.

Yes, by asking the court. Either the prosecutor or the defense can request a change, after giving the other side reasonable notice (MCA 46-9-311). Steps that help:

1. Ask the defense attorney to file a written motion with the judge on the case.
2. Pull together pay stubs, rent or mortgage papers, letters from family and an honest budget. Montana bans oppressive bail and tells judges to weigh a person's finances (MCA 46-9-301).
3. Offer something that answers the judge's fear, such as GPS tracking or regular check-ins through the county's supervision office.

Justice Court cases are scheduled by calling 406-346-2638. For felonies, the Clerk of District Court can explain the process: 406-346-7322.

Misdemeanor Probation handles that job for the county. Its staff serve Forsyth City Court, Colstrip City Court, the Justice Court and the 16th Judicial District Court from 417 Willow Ave, Colstrip, MT 59323, 406-748-2800. The office offers:

• supervision before trial, plus probation after a sentence
• GPS tracking and electronic monitoring
• drug and alcohol testing
• referrals for addiction treatment, mental health care and community service
• follow-up on jobs and court orders

A person released under its watch should phone the office right after getting out to learn their first report date.

Yes, if money is tight. At the first appearance the judge brings up the right to an attorney (MCA 46-7-102). Montana's statewide public defender system steps in on felonies and youth cases, plus misdemeanors where a jail sentence is possible.

A person qualifies with household income up to 133% of poverty guidelines, or when hiring a lawyer would mean real hardship. Being employed, or having bailed out, can't by itself sink the request (MCA 47-1-111). Applicants sign a financial statement under penalty of perjury, and the court has the final say.

• Miles City office in the state directory: Office of State Public Defender, 515 Main St, Miles City, MT 59301, 406-851-7080
• Apply on the state's online public defender form, and attach proof of income.
• More about the program: Montana Public Defender

The county courthouse on Main Street in Forsyth houses the Justice Court, the Clerk of District Court, the district judge's chambers and the County Attorney. Official sources list two different street numbers for that building. Before driving over, phone the Clerk of District Court at 406-346-7322 for directions and the right door.

• 16th Judicial District Court for felonies. Chambers: 406-346-6109, open weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The same district serves Carter, Custer, Fallon, Garfield, Powder River and Treasure counties.
• Justice Court (misdemeanors, first felony steps): 406-346-2638
• Forsyth City Court: 406-346-2525
• Colstrip City Court: 12 Cherry St., Colstrip, MT 59323, 406-748-2300
• Federal cases: James F. Battin Federal Courthouse, 2601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 1200, Billings, MT 59101, 406-247-7000

Cash bail is returned if the person showed up every time. When the case is finished, deposited cash goes back to the defendant or the sureties (MCA 46-9-502). State court rules return a bond only under the name of the person who put it up, so the receipt and an ID matter.

A missed hearing changes the picture. The judge may order the bail forfeited, and notice must reach the defendant and sureties by mail within 10 working days. Miss that window and the bond is released (MCA 46-9-503).

• A surrender or a good excuse inside 90 days can persuade the judge to cancel it.
• Lost money on a misdemeanor stays local, with the city or county. Felony money goes into the state's coffers (MCA 46-9-511).
• The court can order forfeited money paid to the crime victim (MCA 46-9-512).

Ask the court that received the payment about refunds. The Justice Court number is 406-346-2638.

Raise it before release. Call 406-346-2715. Ask how any balance on the jail account comes back to the person, and when you can pick up personal items at 180 S 13th Ave, Forsyth, MT 59327.

Carry a photo ID. Collecting on someone's behalf may require a signed note from them, so ask. Our jail account guide walks through how deposits and balances are usually handled.

It can. Treasure County's 911 dispatch is run out of the Forsyth center, and its Sheriff's page sends people to the Rosebud inmate list and warrant list. Someone arrested around Hysham may therefore appear on that list.

Phone before you make the drive, to be sure where the person is. Ask which court set the bail and where to pay it.

• Treasure County Sheriff's Office: 307 Rapelje Ave., Hysham, MT 59038, 406-342-5211
• Treasure County Justice and City Court: PO Box 297, Hysham, MT 59038, 406-342-5532
• Detention Center in Forsyth: 406-346-2715

The reservation covers land on the county's western side, and Lame Deer is its capital. The Northern Cheyenne Tribal Court hears tribal cases and handles bond under its own policy. These offices can tell you who has the person and how release works:

• Northern Cheyenne Tribal Court: 25 N Cheyenne Avenue, Lame Deer, MT 59043, 406-477-8340. Open weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It closes on tribal and federal holidays.
• BIA Law Enforcement Center: PO Box 913, Lame Deer, MT 59043, 406-477-6289
• Tribal dispatch: 406-477-6914

Anyone who turns up on the Sheriff's list instead uses the Forsyth jail steps on this page.

Federal cases from this area belong to the Billings Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. Clerk's office inside the Battin courthouse: James F. Battin Federal Courthouse, 2601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 1200, Billings, MT 59101, 406-247-7000, on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Federal judges decide release or detention when the defendant first appears. Either side can ask for a delay of just a few days (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Deputy U.S. Marshals hold federal defendants who wait on trial. Main district office: 2601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 2300, Billings, MT 59101, 406-200-6004.
• Because the Sheriff's list includes a federal holds section, a federal prisoner could be in Forsyth. The Marshals can say where.
• After sentencing, look the person up in the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

The case docket sits on PACER, where pages cost a few cents each.

Bail and an ICE hold are separate. Paying one does not clear the other. Expect this sequence:

1. Federal immigration officers file paperwork with the jail. It is called a detainer, and the form number is I-247A.
2. Under it, the jail may keep them for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Under state law, deputies must keep the person on it and say why. That duty ends when solid papers show citizenship or lawful presence (MCA 27-16-801).
4. ICE then moves the person, usually to a site tied to its Salt Lake City Field Office, 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200. The agency's Billings check-in office handles this county at 2900 4th Avenue, Suite 205, Billings, MT 59101, 406-247-4083.
5. Look the person up on the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Enter the A-number. Or type the exact name with the country of birth.

Any felony term longer than one year puts the person under the Montana Department of Corrections. Most first sit in the county jail during a state review, and the Sheriff's list files them under DOC holds. The state then places them in prison, at a prerelease center or in treatment.

• Enter a name or DOC number on the state's offender search.
• Parole release questions: Board of Pardons and Parole, 1002 Hollenbeck Road, Deer Lodge, MT 59722, 406-846-1404.
• Want visiting and mail rules? Try our Montana state prisons guide.

Montana calls anyone under 18 a youth. Charges against minors mostly land in Youth Court, where a district judge presides (MCA 41-5-203). Teens are kept out of adult cells overnight for booking. In rural places like this, a jail may hold a youth as long as 24 hours while a hearing is set up, weekends and holidays not counted, but they must be kept where adults can't see or hear them (MCA 41-5-349).

• A detained teen gets a probable cause review inside 24 hours. Weekends and holidays are left out of that count (MCA 41-5-332).
• A judge may set bail for a teen as well, and it should fit what mom, dad or a guardian can manage (MCA 41-5-323).
• Call the Sheriff's Office at 406-346-2715 to find the youth.
• For Youth Court, call the Clerk of District Court at 406-346-7322. Juvenile Probation for the district answers at 406-874-3418.