Bill > HB415

This bill modifies existing Montana law regarding a judge's ability to provide bail to defendants by specifically limiting a judge's discretion when a defendant is subject to a warrant from another jurisdiction. Currently, judges can generally admit defendants to bail during bail proceedings and continue bail when a case is bound over to another court. Under the proposed changes, if a defendant is on a warrant from another jurisdiction, the judge would be prohibited from setting bail. The bill preserves existing provisions that allow for bail in other circumstances, such as during appeals or through two-way electronic audio-video communication. The key modification is the new restriction on bail for defendants with out-of-jurisdiction warrants, which aims to potentially prevent certain defendants from being released when they are wanted in another legal jurisdiction. The changes would be made to section 46-9-201 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA), which governs bail proceedings.

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https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/2/LC2371