Anger Management in Montana: Deferred Sentences, City Courts and Your Class

Montana has two layers of trial courts. Which one has your case tells you who will check your class.

• Courts of limited jurisdiction (misdemeanors). Each county has a justice court. Many towns have a city court. Five cities have a municipal court that keeps a full record: Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Helena and Missoula. These courts handle most fights, threats, disorderly conduct and simple assault. In Billings, a case inside city limits goes to Billings Municipal Court. The same kind of case outside the city goes to Yellowstone County Justice Court. Helena and Lewis and Clark County split cases the same way.
• Deferred or suspended sentences. Under MCA 46-18-201, a judge can put off imposing a sentence. For a misdemeanor that is up to one year, or two years if you owe fines or restitution. A felony can be deferred for up to three years. A judge can also suspend a jail or prison term. Either way, the judge may attach "any reasonable restrictions or conditions." A separate law, MCA 46-18-202, lets the judge add any limit tied to rehabilitation and the safety of the victim. An anger class fits under both.
• Deferred prosecution. Under MCA 46-16-130, you and the prosecutor can sign a written deal to hold off the case for a set time. The deal can require a rehabilitation program, including counseling or education. Keep every term until the time runs out, and the charge is dismissed with prejudice.
• Misdemeanor probation offices. MCA 46-23-1005 lets a city or county set up its own misdemeanor probation office tied to a justice, city or municipal court. Some local governments hire a private Montana company to do this work. Missoula County, for example, runs Misdemeanor and Pretrial Services at the courthouse. If one of these offices watches your sentence, that officer will want your certificate.
• District court (felonies). Felony cases go to the state district courts. People on felony probation are supervised by officers of the Montana Department of Corrections' Probation and Parole program, which works out of regional offices in cities like Billings, Great Falls, Missoula and Helena. Programs for these cases often come from a risk and needs assessment done by the department.

Courts on Montana's reservations are tribal courts. They run under tribal law, so the rules on this page may not fit a tribal order.

These four cities produce most of the anger class orders in the state. Here is what we found for each.

Billings. Billings Municipal Court hears every misdemeanor and city code case inside city limits. The Billings City Attorney's Office prosecutes them. The court's only published treatment program is the Billings Adult Municipal Treatment Court, and that one is for DUI cases with a substance use problem. We found no public list of anger class providers for the court. Cases outside the city go to Yellowstone County Justice Court, which also posts no list. In both courts, the clerk's office is the first place to call.

Great Falls. Great Falls Municipal Court hears city misdemeanors, and Cascade County Justice Court hears the rest. Great Falls is also the main office for a large Probation and Parole region that covers a dozen central Montana counties. We found no posted anger class list for any of these.

Helena. Helena Municipal Court handles misdemeanor traffic, criminal and animal cases, city ordinance cases and orders of protection inside city limits. Lewis and Clark County Justice Court takes cases from the rest of the county. Neither posts an anger class list that we could find.

Missoula. Missoula County runs Misdemeanor and Pretrial Services and a separate Domestic Violence Treatment Court for misdemeanor partner cases. That court keeps the judge involved after the sentence, with more check-ins than a normal case. If you are in that court, expect closer oversight of any program you start.

Bozeman and smaller towns. Gallatin County Justice Court and the Bozeman Municipal Court work the same way. A widely reported 2017 case from that court ended in a deferred sentence with 20 hours of anger management and community service.

No. No Montana agency reviews or keeps a list of anger management classes. We did not find a public provider list from Billings Municipal Court, Great Falls Municipal Court, Helena Municipal Court or the justice courts in those counties.

The one statewide set of rules in this area is for a different kind of case. The Montana Board of Crime Control writes standards for "offender intervention programs." Those programs are for partner and family member assault, not for general anger orders. They are covered in the next section.

So in practice the choice of class comes down to three people: the judge, your misdemeanor probation officer, or your Probation and Parole officer. Some will name a local counselor. Some will take any class that matches the hours. Some want a person they can call.

Good Standing Courses is not on any Montana court, county, city or Probation and Parole list. That is the reason to check with your judge's clerk or your officer before you start.

We found no Montana statute, court rule or statewide policy that bans online anger management classes for general cases. We also found none that permits them by name. The deferral and diversion laws only speak of "reasonable" conditions and rehabilitation programs. That leaves the format to the person who wrote or watches the order.

Here is what points each way in Montana:

• Against: Montana judges know their local counselors, and some prefer someone in town who can send reports. Felony programming tends to follow a Department of Corrections assessment, which may steer you to a program the officer already uses. The Missoula domestic violence court keeps a tight watch on everything you do.
• For: The deferred prosecution law lists "education" as a program a deal can require, and an online class is education. Montana is large and rural. A person in a small town may be two hours from the nearest group. Even the Board's partner-violence standards allow remote sessions when a program has the right rules in place, which shows the state is not against distance learning as a rule.

If your order uses the word "counseling" or "evaluation," that is a flag. Some Montana judges mean meetings with a counselor, not a course. Ask before you start.

Your best move is a two-minute call or email to the clerk or officer. Get the answer in writing and keep it with your certificate.

Montana has no set length for an anger management condition. Each judge picks a number, or leaves it to the officer.

• 8 to 12 hours: a common range for a first misdemeanor with no partner involved. Low to medium confidence; it is based on how classes are usually sold, not on a Montana rule.
• About 20 hours: the length in the widely reported 2017 Gallatin County deferred sentence. Medium confidence as an example; it was one judge's choice.
• 16 hours or more: more likely after a second case, a felony, or a Probation and Parole referral. Low confidence.
• 40 hours or more: this is the PFMA counseling minimum under MCA 45-5-206. That is a different program, not an anger class.

If your paper gives no hours, do not guess. Call the clerk or your officer first.