Montana Code 45-5-209. Partner or family member assault — no contact order — notice — violation of order — penalty
45-5-209. Partner or family member assault — no contact order — notice — violation of order — penalty. (1) A court may issue a standing no contact order and direct law enforcement to serve the order on a defendant charged with or arrested for a violation of 45-5-206 or, if the victim is a partner or family member of the defendant, a violation of 45-5-202, 45-5-213, or 45-5-215. The court order may specify conditions necessary to enhance the safety of any protected person. The court-ordered conditions may include prohibiting the defendant from contacting the protected person in person, by a third party, by telephone, by electronic communication, as defined in 45-8-213, and in writing. The court may impose up to a 1,500-foot restriction on the defendant to stay away from the protected person’s location.
Terms Used In Montana Code 45-5-209
- Arraignment: A proceeding in which an individual who is accused of committing a crime is brought into court, told of the charges, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Knowingly: means only a knowledge that the facts exist which bring the act or omission within the provisions of this code. See Montana Code 1-1-204
- Peace officer: has the meaning as defined in 46-1-202. See Montana Code 1-1-207
- Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203
(2)Notice of the no contact order must be given orally and in writing by a peace officer at the time that the offender is charged with or arrested for a violation of 45-5-206 or, if the victim is a partner or family member of the defendant, a violation of 45-5-202, 45-5-213, or 45-5-215. One copy of the order must be given to the defendant, and one copy must be filed with the court.
(3)The charge of a violation of 45-5-206 or, if the victim is a partner or family member of the defendant, a violation of 45-5-202, 45-5-213, or 45-5-215 must be supported by a peace officer’s affidavit of probable cause.
(4)The no contact order issued at the time that the defendant is charged with or arrested for a violation of 45-5-206 or, if the victim is a partner or family member of the defendant, a violation of 45-5-202, 45-5-213, or 45-5-215 is effective for 72 hours or until the defendant makes the first appearance in court.
(5)The court order must state:
“You have been charged with or arrested for an assault on a partner or family member. You are not allowed to have contact with _________________________________________________________________ (list names). You may not ___________________________________. Violation of this no contact order is a criminal offense under 45-5-209, MCA, and may result in your arrest. You may be arrested even if the person protected by the no contact order invites or allows you to violate the prohibitions. This order lasts 72 hours or until the court continues or changes the order.”
(6)The court shall review and amend, if appropriate, the no contact order at the defendant’s first appearance.
(7)A no contact order may be issued by a court with jurisdiction over violations of 45-5-206 or, if the victim is a partner or family member of the defendant, violations of 45-5-202, 45-5-213, or 45-5-215 at the time of the defendant’s arraignment or at any other appearance of the defendant, including sentencing. The no contact order must be in writing. A copy of the no contact order must be given to the defendant when it is issued by the court. The court order shall specify protected persons and prohibited contact, including but not limited to the restriction mentioned in subsection (1).
(8)(a) A person commits the offense of violation of a no contact order if the person, with knowledge of the order, purposely or knowingly violates any provision of any order issued under this section.
(b)Each contact or attempt to make contact with each protected person, directly or indirectly, is a separate offense. Consent of the protected person to prohibited contact is not a defense. A protected person may not be charged with a violation of a no contact order.
(c)An offender convicted of violation of a no contact order shall be fined an amount not to exceed $500 or be imprisoned in the county jail for a term not to exceed 6 months, or both.
(9)As used in this section, the following definitions apply:
(a)”No contact order” means a court order that prohibits a defendant charged with or convicted of an assault on a partner or family member from contacting a protected person.
(b)”Partner” or “family member” has the meaning provided in 45-5-206.
(c)”Protected person” means a victim of a partner or family member assault listed in a no contact order.