Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 46 > Chapter 18 > Part 11 - Expungement of Records

• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Arrest: means taking a person into custody in the manner authorized by law. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Conviction: means a judgment or sentence entered upon a guilty or nolo contendere plea or upon a verdict or finding of guilty rendered by a legally constituted jury or by a court of competent jurisdiction authorized to try the case without a jury. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Court: means a place where justice is judicially administered and includes the judge of the court. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• expungement: means to permanently destroy, delete, or erase a record of an offense from the criminal history record information system maintained by the department of justice in a manner that is appropriate for the record's physical or electronic form. See Montana Code 46-18-1103
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• Offense: means a violation of any penal statute of this state or any ordinance of its political subdivisions. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Prosecutor: means an elected or appointed attorney who is vested by law with the power to initiate and carry out criminal proceedings on behalf of the state or a political subdivision. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Record: means any:

  (i)identifiable description, notation, or photograph of an arrest and detention;

  (ii)complaint, indictment, or information or any disposition arising from a complaint, indictment, or information;

  (iii)sentence;

  (iv)correctional status;

  (v)release; or

  (vi)court document or filing. See Montana Code 46-18-1103

• 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
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201