House Bill 415 amends Section 46-9-201 of the Montana Code Annotated to revise the criteria under which a judge may admit a defendant to bail. The bill specifically limits a judge's ability to grant bail to defendants who are on a warrant from another jurisdiction, stating that a judge may admit to bail any defendant appearing before them unless they fall under this restriction. Additionally, the bill clarifies that when a defendant is bound over to a court or judge with jurisdiction over the charged offense, bail must be continued unless the defendant is also on a warrant from another jurisdiction.

The amendments also include the insertion of language that allows for a defendant's appearance before a judge to occur via two-way electronic audio-video communication, in addition to physical appearances. This change aims to modernize the bail process and ensure that defendants have the opportunity to appear before a judge regardless of their physical location, while still maintaining the new limitations on bail eligibility for those with outstanding warrants from other jurisdictions.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 46-9-201
HB0415_1(1): 46-9-201
HB0415_1(10): 46-9-201
HB0415_1(11): 46-9-201
HB0415_1(12): 46-9-201
HB0415_1(13): 46-9-201
HB0415_1(14): 46-9-201
HB0415_1(2): 46-9-201
HB0415_1(3): 46-9-201
HB0415_1(4): 46-9-201
HB0415_1(5): 46-9-201
HB0415_1(6): 46-9-201
HB0415_1(7): 46-9-201
HB0415_1(8): 46-9-201
HB0415_1(9): 46-9-201
HB0415_1: 46-9-201
HB0415_X(1): 46-9-201
HB0415_X(2): 46-9-201
HB0415_X(3): 46-9-201
HB0415_X(4): 46-9-201
HB0415_X(5): 46-9-201
HB0415_X(6): 46-9-201
HB0415_X(7): 46-9-201
HB0415_X(8): 46-9-201
HB0415_X(9): 46-9-201
HB0415_X: 46-9-201