Legal Question in Criminal Law in Montana

Re: Bail

I rarely practice in the Federal system, so I would not attempt to advise you on the procedure the magistrate would employ. In the State system, the Justice of the Peace or City Judge would handle your initial appearance where you would be advised of the nature of the charge against you, of your right to counsel, and bail would be set. Since one of the duties of the Judge is to set bail. In the State system what happened would be a little iffy, procedurally. There should have been a motion for increase of bail brought by the prosecutor and a hearing on the motion should have taken place. I cannot say what your remedy, if any, would be; I'm going to suggest that a dismissal would not be likely.