Big Horn County Detention Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

On state charges, the judge decides bail at the person's first court date (W.S. 7-10-104(a)). That happens in the Circuit Court of the 5th Judicial District, 420 West C Street, Basin, WY 82410, 307-568-2367. The circuit court also has a second courtroom at 355 East 5th Street, Lovell, WY 82431, which shares that phone number. This county has a full-time circuit court magistrate, a judge-like officer who can handle these early hearings.

The first hearing has to come quickly. Someone arrested without a warrant goes free if no judge finds a solid reason for the arrest within 72 hours (W.R.Cr.P. 5(a)). The hearing can be in person or on a video screen from the jail. If a felony moves up to District Court, the bail set earlier keeps working until a district judge changes it (W.S. 7-10-103).

Town tickets from Basin, Greybull, Lovell or Byron belong to that town's own court, and each town court handles its own bonds.

When deciding, the judge reads the written request the person sent from jail (W.R.Cr.P. 46.1(a)(1)). Then the judge picks one of these:

• Signed promise. No money is paid. The person promises in writing to show up for court.
• Promise plus rules. The person must follow orders, such as no drinking or no contact with a certain person.
• Cash bond. The court keeps the full amount until the case ends.
• Surety bond. A licensed bail company backs the full amount, and you pay that company a fee.
• Property or other security. Wyoming law allows "cash, appearance bond or other security," so a judge can sometimes take something besides cash (W.S. 7-10-103).

Some small tickets can simply be paid instead of going to court. This only works if the officer checked the box on the ticket that says you may forfeit bond instead of appearing.

Smaller crimes are called misdemeanors. Many of them have set prices on Wyoming's Uniform Bail and Forfeiture Schedule, which every circuit court uses. The price includes $20 in court costs, a $40 court automation fee and a $10 civil legal services fee.

• Group A: $85
• Group B: $100
• Group C: $150, like having an open container while driving or having no driver's license
• Group D: $250, like careless driving
• Group E: $450, like driving while your license is suspended or revoked
• Fishing without a license at age 14 or older: $250
• Not showing up for a must-appear charge: $250

Anything left off the schedule is a "must appear" charge, so a judge sets the price. Examples are DUI, theft, battery, domestic battery, drug charges and trespassing.

Felonies are crimes punishable by more than a year in prison. Nothing sets their price ahead of time. The judge thinks about the charge, the person's history and their ties to the community.

The jail sits at 415 Murphy St., Basin, WY 82410. Call before you drive, because many towns here are a long way from Basin.

1. Phone the jail at 307-568-9311.
2. Ask for the bond amount, the case number and which court set it.
3. Ask what payment the jail takes for bail, and who to make a money order or cashier's check out to.
4. Ask if a bail company may post the bond on this case.
5. Bring a photo ID and the right amount, and keep your receipt.

Staff may not give private details over the phone, so the person's full name and birthday help. The Sheriff's Office dispatch line, 307-568-2324, is answered at all hours.

For a warrant that allows bond, the Sheriff's Office says to contact the court that issued it. That could be District Court, Circuit Court, the Greybull Police Department or Basin Municipal Court.

• Circuit Court: 420 West C Street, Basin, WY 82410, 307-568-2367.
• District Court clerk: 420 West C Street, Basin, WY 82410, 307-568-2381.
• Basin Municipal Court: fines and bonds that can be forfeited are paid at the Town Office, 919 West B St., Suite 1A, Basin, WY 82410, 307-568-3331, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Greybull Police Department and town court: Town Hall, 24 South 5th St, Greybull, WY 82426, 307-765-2308.
• Lovell Municipal Court: Town Hall, 336 Nevada Ave., Lovell, WY 82431, 307-548-6551, Monday to Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Ask the clerk which kinds of payment are taken for a bond before you go.

For a bond on a state charge, the jail at 307-568-9311 can tell you if it takes cash, money orders or cashier's checks. Have the exact amount with you. Never put cash in the mail.

Town tickets have their own payment choices. Basin takes payments in person, by check or money order mailed to Basin Municipal Court, PO Box 599, Basin, WY 82410, or online through the town court page. Greybull takes ticket payments at Town Hall or online through the town services page. If you lost a Greybull ticket number, call 307-765-9431. Lovell takes payments at Town Hall in person or by phone at 307-548-6551.

Tickets that state law lets you forfeit can be paid on the Wyoming courts payment page. It is only for tickets, not for bailing someone out.

A bail bond company promises the court the whole bail amount for you. In return, you pay the company a fee. Wyoming's Supreme Court writes the rules on when a court can trust a company to cover the bond (W.S. 7-10-102). Anyone selling bail bonds backed by an insurance company needs a state insurance license.

• The fee pays the company for its risk. It is not refunded.
• The company may hold something of value, such as a car title, until the case ends.
• Friends or family may be asked to co-sign. Co-signers can owe the full bail if the person skips court.
• Put every promise in writing before you sign.

To check a bail agent's license, call the Wyoming Department of Insurance, 106 E 6th Ave, Cheyenne, WY 82002, Consumer Affairs at 307-777-7402. A judge doesn't always allow a bail company, so ask the jail at 307-568-9311 first.

A bond only covers the case it was set for. A person can stay locked up because of:

• Another charge, like a town ticket and a state charge from the same arrest.
• A warrant from a different Wyoming county. If that county's judge set bond by video, the person gets 24 hours to post it here before they are taken there (W.R.Cr.P. 46.1(g)).
• A hold from a probation or parole officer.
• A federal hold. This jail houses prisoners for the U.S. Marshals of Wyoming and Montana, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
• An immigration hold from ICE.

Before paying, call the jail at 307-568-9311 and ask if any other hold is on file.

Hardly ever. The Wyoming Constitution says every person can get bail, unless the crime is punishable by death and the proof is plain or the guilt seems very likely. It also forbids bail that is too high (Wyo. Const. art. 1, sec. 14; W.S. 7-10-101(b)). When a judge is worried that someone is dangerous or will run, the usual answer is a higher bond or tighter rules. Breaking a rule can lead to a new arrest.

The prosecutor's office asks the judge for these terms. Here it is the Big Horn County & Prosecuting Attorney, P.O. Box 647, Basin, WY 82410, 307-568-2436. This office handles both misdemeanors and felonies.

Start with the written request from jail. A short note that lists a job, a home, family in the area and a ride to court can help the judge decide.

After bail is set, a defense lawyer can file a request asking the judge to lower it or ease the rules. In a felony, the District Court can take a fresh look once the case gets there (W.S. 7-10-103). The District Court clerk is at 420 West C Street, Basin, WY 82410, 307-568-2381.

For a town ticket, call that town's court and ask how to request a change.

Maybe. A judge decides if the person is "needy" under Wyoming's Public Defender Act (W.S. 7-6-106). The court compares income to the federal poverty level:

• Less than 125%: counts as needy.
• 125% to 218%: the judge may decide either way.
• More than 218%: not needy, except in unusual felony cases.
• People who get public aid, such as Medicaid or SSI, are presumed needy. So are people in jail with no money to use.

A public defender is given for every felony and for misdemeanors that could mean jail. Ask the judge at the first hearing. The court may later order some of the cost paid back. The program's statewide office answers questions at 316 West 22nd Street, Cheyenne, WY 82002, 307-777-7519, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.

• Circuit Court, main office: 420 West C Street, Basin, WY 82410, 307-568-2367. Misdemeanors, first hearings, felony preliminary hearings and bail.
• Circuit Court, second courtroom: 355 East 5th Street, Lovell, WY 82431, same phone as the main office.
• District Court: 420 West C Street, Basin, WY 82410, 307-568-2381. Felonies and juvenile cases.
• Basin Municipal Court: Town Hall, 919 West B Street, Suite 2, Basin, WY 82410, Thursdays at 1:00 p.m.
• Greybull Municipal Court: first and third Wednesday of the month, clerk at 307-765-2308.
• Lovell Municipal Court: Town Hall, 336 Nevada Ave., Lovell, WY 82431, 307-548-6551.
• Byron Municipal Court: Town Hall, 35 South Pryor St, Byron, WY 82412, 307-548-7490, first Wednesday of the month at 3:00 p.m.
• U.S. District Court: Joseph C. O'Mahoney Federal Center, 2120 Capitol Avenue, Room 2131, Cheyenne, WY 82001, 307-433-2120.

Tickets from Burlington, Cowley, Deaver, Frannie and Manderson go to the Circuit Court.

If the person makes every court date, cash bail comes back once the case is closed. Phone whichever clerk has the case. That's Circuit Court (307-568-2367) for misdemeanors, or District Court (307-568-2381) once a felony moves up. Find out when the money will come back, whose name goes on the check and if some will go toward fines or court costs.

Skipping court can cost the whole bond. In Wyoming, bail that is kept goes to the county treasurer for the public school fund (W.S. 7-10-105). A bail company can also ask its co-signers to pay it back.

During a jail stay, family can put money on the person's account. At the jail, money orders work best, cash is accepted, and personal checks are turned down. Online deposits are also an option, and our money deposit guide shows how. Questions about phone costs go to 800-844-6591.

At release, the person gets back the belongings taken at booking. To ask about money left on the account or something another person needs to pick up, call the jail at 307-568-9311.

Federal charges are heard by the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming. Its main office is in the Joseph C. O'Mahoney Federal Center, 2120 Capitol Avenue, Room 2131, Cheyenne, WY 82001, 307-433-2120. Some hearings happen at the Casper office in the Ewing T. Kerr Federal Building, 111 South Wolcott, Room 121, Casper, WY 82601, 307-232-2620. Both are open weekdays 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m.

A federal judge decides at a detention hearing whether the person can be released before trial. The defense may ask for up to five days to prepare and the government up to three, and the person is held during that wait (18 U.S.C. 3142(f)). The U.S. Marshals hold federal defendants, and the Basin jail houses prisoners for both the Wyoming and Montana Marshals. After sentencing, look them up with the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

No. Bail ends only the state part. ICE, the agency in charge of immigration, works on its own track:

1. ICE sends the jail a detainer, Form I-247A, asking for a heads-up and a hold.
2. The jail is allowed to keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. ICE takes the person to a detention center it picks.
4. Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator with an A-number, or a full name and birth country.

Big Horn County is covered by ICE's Casper check-in office, 150 E. B Street, Room 1014, Casper, WY 82601, 307-261-6590. A 2025 Wyoming law forbids state and local rules that limit cooperation with immigration officers (W.S. 9-25-102).

A misdemeanor sentence is served in the county jail in Basin. A felony prison sentence means a move to the Wyoming Department of Corrections. The department checks each new prisoner first, then sends them to a prison that matches their needs and risk.

Search the WDOC offender locator by name or offender number to find them after the move. Our list of Wyoming state prisons shows each one. Department headquarters: 1934 Wyott Drive, Suite 100, Cheyenne, WY 82002, 307-777-7208.

Under Wyoming law, a child picked up by police goes home with a parent, guardian or another responsible adult. The child is held only if that is needed to keep people safe or to stop them from running off, and a parent must be told right away (W.S. 14-6-206). Any child kept in custody gets a hearing within 48 hours, leaving out weekends and holidays, and stays in a place apart from adults (W.S. 14-6-207 and 14-6-209). Teen cases are private and go to District Court.

The state's four youth detention centers are in Gillette, Cheyenne, Casper and Rock Springs. One of them is the Campbell County Juvenile Detention Center, 600 West Boxelder Road, Gillette, WY 82718, 307-687-6138. To find out where a teen was taken, call the Big Horn County Sheriff's Office dispatch at 307-568-2324.