Montana Code 44-5-202. Photographs and fingerprints
44-5-202. Photographs and fingerprints. (1) The following agencies may, if authorized by subsections (2) through (5), collect, process, and preserve photographs and fingerprints:
Terms Used In Montana Code 44-5-202
- Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Criminal justice agency: means :
(a)any court with criminal jurisdiction;
(b)any federal, state, or local government agency designated by statute or by a governor's executive order to perform as its principal function the administration of criminal justice, including a governmental fire agency organized under Title 7, chapter 33, or a fire marshal who conducts criminal investigations of fires;
(c)any local government agency not included under subsection (7)(b) that performs as its principal function the administration of criminal justice pursuant to an ordinance or local executive order; or
(d)any agency of a foreign nation that has been designated by that nation's law or chief executive officer to perform as its principal function the administration of criminal justice and that has been approved for the receipt of criminal justice information by the Montana attorney general, who may consult with the United States department of justice. See Montana Code 44-5-103
- Disposition: means information disclosing that criminal proceedings against an individual have terminated and describing the nature of the termination or information relating to sentencing, correctional supervision, release from correctional supervision, the outcome of appellate or collateral review of criminal proceedings, or executive clemency. See Montana Code 44-5-103
- Fingerprints: means the recorded friction ridge skin of the fingers, palms, or soles of the feet. See Montana Code 44-5-103
- 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.
- 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.
- Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
- 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
- State repository: means the recordkeeping systems maintained by the department of justice pursuant to 44-2-201 in which criminal history record information is collected, processed, preserved, and disseminated. See Montana Code 44-5-103
(a)any criminal justice agency performing, under law, the functions of a police department or a sheriff’s office, or both;
(b)the department of corrections; and
(c)the department of justice.
(2)The department of corrections may photograph and fingerprint anyone under the jurisdiction of the division of corrections or its successor.
(3)A criminal justice agency described in subsection (1)(a) shall photograph and fingerprint a person who has been arrested or noticed or summoned to appear to answer an information or indictment if:
(a)the charge is the commission of a felony or a misdemeanor except as provided in subsection (5);
(b)the identification of an accused is in issue; or
(c)it is required to do so by court order.
(4)Whenever a person charged with the commission of a felony or a misdemeanor is not arrested, the person shall appear before the sheriff, chief of police, or other concerned law enforcement officer for fingerprinting at the time of initial appearance in court to answer the information or indictment against the person. The individual being fingerprinted shall present the charging document, information, or citation at the time of fingerprinting, and the charging document, information, or citation must be returned to the individual after the fingerprints are taken.
(5)An individual who is issued a notice to appear or who is arrested for a misdemeanor traffic, regulatory, or fish and game offense may not be photographed or fingerprinted unless the individual is:
(a)incarcerated; or
(b)sentenced to a term of incarceration, whether or not the term of incarceration was suspended by the sentencing judge.
(6)Within 10 days, the originating agency shall send the state repository a copy of each fingerprint taken on a completed form provided by the state repository.
(7)The state repository shall compare the fingerprints received with those already on file in the state repository. If it is determined that the individual is wanted or is a fugitive from justice, the state repository shall at once inform the originating agency. If it is determined that the individual has a criminal record, the state repository shall send the originating agency a copy of the individual’s complete criminal history record.
(8)If an individual is released without the filing of charges, if the charges did not result in a conviction, or if a conviction is later invalidated, the court having jurisdiction in the criminal action shall report the disposition to the state repository as required in 44-5-213(2) within 14 business days. Photographs and fingerprints taken of the individual must be returned by the state repository to the originating agency, which shall expunge all copies. A criminal justice agency may not maintain any copies of the individual’s fingerprints or photographs related to that charge or invalidated conviction.