Montana Criminal Records

Montana Criminal Records summarize a person's encounters with enforcement agencies and the state's criminal justice system. Most reports list convictions and imprisonment and may not cover cases where someone was charged but later found innocent.

Even though the rules for collecting and storing criminal records vary from county to county, many Montana Criminal Records are arranged in online record depositories that anyone can access.

In Montana, the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) of the Montana Department of Justice (MT DOJ) keeps track of criminal records in the state.

Criminal records in Montana may reveal the following:

• Subject's personal information (name, date of birth, and gender)
• Mugshot
• Driver's license number
• Fingerprints
• Current and previous addresses
• Accusations and kinds of crimes
• History of arrests
• Current and previous warrants
• Correctional facility location
• Date of the release

Like other states, the information in Montana Criminal Records varies significantly depending on a person's crime. However, significant crimes in Montana that may appear on a person's record include:

Felonies

In Montana, unlike many other states, there are no different types of felony records. Instead of putting felony records into classes based on severity, the law asserts the maximum sentence for each crime.

Here are the most common felony records in Montana:

Burglary

A burglary occurs when a person enters a building without permission to commit a crime. This felony can get you up to 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

Aggravated Assault

This type of felony occurs when someone intentionally causes substantial bodily harm to another person. The maximum prison sentence and fine for aggravated assault are the same. However, if the judge gives the fine, it must be in addition to the prison sentence.

Property theft Worth Between $1,500 and $5,000

In Montana, the first offense of this kind of felony can get you up to three years in prison and a $1,500 fine. You could spend five years in jail for a second offense and pay a $1,500 fine. If you commit this felony for the third time, you will face a sentence of two to five years in prison and pay a $5,000 fine.

Stalking

Stalking is a serious offense that can result in a felony record in Montana. If someone commits this crime twice, they could go to prison for up to five years and have to pay a $10,000 fine.

How long do felony records remain in Montana? In Montana, felony records stay on your record for life. Unfortunately, felony records are not eligible for expungement in this state unless you have mitigating circumstances or a court dismissal.

Misdemeanor

Montana considers a crime a misdemeanor record if the maximum sentence is one year in jail, a fine, or both. Montana, unlike many states, does not classify misdemeanor records for sentencing. Instead, the state's statutes establish misdemeanor records and punishment for conviction.

A few common misdemeanor records in Montana can get you up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. However, its law provides severer punishments for numerous offenses when the person has prior convictions.

The most common misdemeanor records in Montana include:

theft of Property Worth $1,500 or Less

The maximum penalty is a $500 fine for the first offense of this misdemeanor. For a second offense, the maximum penalty is either six months in jail or a $500 fine. The minimum sentence for a third offense is five days, and the maximum is one year, plus a $500 fine.

Disorderly Conduct

For the first offense of this misdemeanor in Montana, you can get up to 10 days in jail or a $100 fine. For a second or third crime within a year, you can get up to 10 days in prison and a $100 fine.

Stalking

Those who commit stalking for the first time will face up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine.

Sexual Assault

This misdemeanor can get you up to six months in jail and pay a $500 fine for your first offense. For the second offense, you will get a punishment of up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.

How long does a record of a misdemeanor stay on your record? In Montana, records of misdemeanors remain on file for life unless expunged. However, you must wait at least five years after completing your sentence before expungement.

Criminal Driving Violations

In Montana, criminal driving violations have an aggravating factor, such as death or property damage. Most of the time, these violations lead to jail time and significant fines. They can also lead to vehicle impoundment, suspended or revoked driver's licenses, probation, and home confinement.

The following are the primary criminal driving violations in Montana:

Montana Felony Traffic Violations

In every legal system, felonies are the most severe crimes, and traffic felonies are no exception. In Montana, a driver or pedestrian commits a felony traffic violation if they commit an act that can get them at least one year in jail. Some of the examples under Montana felony traffic violations include:

• Drag racing
• Hit and run
• Avoiding a police arrest
• Driving while intoxicated
• Leaving the scene of an accident
• Road racing

Montana Traffic Misdemeanors

Traffic misdemeanors in Montana are less severe crimes that usually lead to a fine or no more than a year in jail. Most traffic violations result in arrest and the imposition of a fine. In Montana, examples of traffic misdemeanors include:

• Reckless driving
• Non-appearance in court for a traffic violation
• Driving without a license
• Driving with a revoked, expired, or suspended license

How long do criminal driving violations stay on your record? MT DOJ asserts that criminal driving violations remain on a person's record for three years from the day they are convicted.

Sexual Offenses

In this state, anyone who engages in sexual behavior with children under 16 is guilty of statutory rape. Montana Code Annotated (MCA) does not use the word "rape". Instead, it calls rape offenses "sexual assault" and "sexual intercourse without consent".

Sexual Intercourse Without Consent

Under Montana law, sexual intercourse without consent includes statutory rape. This sexual crime happens when a person has sexual contact with a child younger than 16.

This type of sexual offense has a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail or life in prison and costs up to $50,000. If the child is under 14 and the defendant was 18 or younger when the sexual behavior occurred, the crime carries a punishment of no more than five years in jail and a $10,000 fine if all the following apply:

• The defendant is never guilty of sexual assault before.
• The defendant has had a psychosexual evaluation, and the court rules that the defendant is not required to register as a sex offender.
• The court finds the sex consented.

However, if the defendant is four years older than the child, the offense carries four to 100 years of life in prison and a $50,000 fine. If the child is under 12 and the defendant is above 18, child rape carries a sentence of 100 years.

Sexual Assault

In Montana, sexual assault is less severe than sexual intercourse without consent. Sexual assault is any sexual conduct short of intercourse with a child under 14 if the defendant is at least three years older.

This type of sexual offense brings four years to life in jail and a $50,000 fine. If there's a concrete reason, the judge may impose a sentence of fewer than four years.

Montana also allows chemical castration for some sex offenders and prison sentences.

Under Megan's Law, people guilty of having sexual contact with an underage child in Montana must register as sex offenders for life.

If you want to know about sex offenders in Montana, the Montana Sexual and Violent Offender Registration Unit collects, maintains, and updates information about them.

Even though the registry doesn't give the offender's complete criminal history, it does give the offender's name along with details about the court, probation, parole, and correctional facilities. You will probably also get a photograph of the criminal and the crime for which they are on record.

In Montana, lawmakers enacted legislation allowing minor convictions to be expunged in 2017, making it the 30th state to add or change expungement laws since 2012. This new law in Montana is one of the country's strictest regarding getting a record expunged.

In this state, an individual can go to court and ask for their entire misdemeanor record removed. If the court agrees, all government offices that have their files must delete them and only keep their fingerprints.

Not all convictions, however, are eligible for expungement. A court won't expunge a felony without a dismissal. The same goes for sexual offenses.

Expunging Process in Montana

If you have been guilty of a crime in Montana and want your record removed, the expungement process is as follows:

• Requests expungement of criminal records from District Court.
• Your attorney must notify the prosecuting agency.
• The prosecutor must inform possible sufferers.
• The District Court will choose whether to grant the order.
• You must have your fingerprint taken on a blue application card if approved.
• Access the expungement form on the MT DOJ website.
• Send fingerprint card, expungement form, and a court order to Criminal Records and Identification Services Section (CRISS).
• CRISS will then confirm if you do not previously use this provision for expungements.
• CRISS will also check your identity using the fingerprint card sent in.
• If you never used this law and there is a confirmation of your ID, CRISS will erase arrest/conviction records from Computerized Criminal History (CCH).
• Wait for 30 days for processing.

Inmate records in Montana are official records about people locked up in prisons or jails across the state.

The Montana Department of Corrections (MT DOC) records all state inmates. Those who are interested can do an inmate search at MT DOC's online database. They can find information about people convicted of a felony and given a prison sentence there.

In Montana, searching for an inmate is free, but you need to know the offender's MT DOC identification number and full name to search.

Searching for inmate records will lead to the following results:

• Inmate's personal information (name, date of birth)
• Any aliases
• Physical Description (weight, height)
• Social security number
• DOC ID
• Booking photo
• Incarceration date
• Anticipated or release date
• Placed in charge
• Sentence summary

Montana Arrest Records contain information on those taken into custody by law enforcement to preserve public safety, investigate crimes, and bring criminals to justice.

In Montana, an arrest warrant is a court order to find and arrest the person in it. An active warrant allows law enforcement to arrest a suspect at any time or location unless specified criteria are listed. Before issuing it, the judge or magistrate must have reasonable grounds or probable cause to think the arrestee has committed an offense or is involved in criminal behavior.

Following the suspect's arrest, booking begins. During the booking process in Montana, the officer who arrested the person will write down the person's name and their accused crime. After that, the person will get a mugshot, have their DNA taken, and go through a health check.

As an officer searches the defendant's whole body, they will also have personal items taken away. A police officer will also check to see if there are any open arrest warrants.

The MT DOJ keeps track of all of the arrest records in Montana. Interested people can get arrest records from the MT DOJ, but they can also ask their local police. In addition, you can perform a Montana arrest search through the Criminal History Online Public Record Search (CHOPRS) portal.

Arrest records in Montana may include the following information:

• Arrestee's personal information (name, age, birthplace, sex, race)
• Any aliases
• Arrest and booking information
• Details from the police interrogation
• The agency and the arresting officer

Employers and other organizations that want background checks can always get a hold of official criminal records in Montana.

In Montana, there are many ways to get a copy of a criminal record. First, you can do it online by using the CHOPRS portal. Here, you must give the person's full name and date of birth and pay $20 to get the result.

You can also get criminal records in the state by visiting MT DOJ in person, which offers fingerprint-based background checks, name-based background checks, and fingerprinting services.

It is also possible to get records by mail in Montana. Mail-in requesters must send a detailed letter to MT DOJ with the following information:

• Subject's details (name, date of birth)
• Any aliases
• Social security number

Requesters must also include:

• A self-addressed envelope with postage
• The processing fee of $15.00