Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 46 > Chapter 1 > Part 12 - Mental Health Treatment Court

• Assessment: means a diagnostic evaluation to determine whether and to what extent a person is an offender with a mental disorder under this part and would benefit from the provisions of this part. See Montana Code 46-1-1203
• Continuum of care: means a seamless and coordinated course of mental health counseling and treatment designed to meet the needs of participants as they move through the criminal justice system and beyond, maximizing self-sufficiency. See Montana Code 46-1-1203
• Court: means a place where justice is judicially administered and includes the judge of the court. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Defense attorney: Represent defendants in criminal matters.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Drug: has the meaning provided in 46-1-1103. See Montana Code 46-1-1203
• Judge: means a person who is vested by law with the power to perform judicial functions. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• 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.
• Memorandum of understanding: means a written document setting forth an agreed-upon procedure. See Montana Code 46-1-1203
• Mental health treatment court: means a court established by a court pursuant to this part implementing a program of incentives and sanctions intended to assist a participant, whose conduct has resulted in a criminal violation, in receiving the needed treatment and life skills to prevent further criminal behavior associated with a mental disorder. See Montana Code 46-1-1203
• Mental health treatment court coordinator: means an individual who, under the direction of the mental health treatment court judge, is responsible for coordinating the establishment, staffing, operation, evaluation, and integrity of the mental health treatment court. See Montana Code 46-1-1203
• Mental health treatment court team: means a group of individuals appointed by the mental health treatment court that:

  (a)must include the following members:

  (i)the judge, which may include a magistrate or other hearing officer;

  (ii)the prosecutor;

  (iii)the defense attorney;

  (iv)the participant; and

  (v)the mental health treatment court coordinator; and

  (b)may include the following additional members:

  (i)a law enforcement officer;

  (ii)a probation and parole officer;

  (iii)a mental health professional;

  (iv)a substance abuse treatment provider;

  (v)a representative from the department of public health and human services;

  (vi)a mental health advocate; and

  (vii)any other person selected by the mental health treatment court. See Montana Code 46-1-1203

• Mental health treatment program: means a program designed by the mental health treatment court team to provide prevention, education, and therapy directed toward ending criminal behavior and preventing a return to a condition leading to criminal behavior. See Montana Code 46-1-1203
• Offense: means a violation of any penal statute of this state or any ordinance of its political subdivisions. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Parole: means the release to the community of a prisoner by a decision of the board of pardons and parole prior to the expiration of the prisoner's term subject to conditions imposed by the board of pardons and parole and the supervision of the department of corrections. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Participant: means a person charged with a criminal offense or an offense in which a mental disorder, as defined in 53-21-102, is determined to have been a significant factor in the commission of the offense. See Montana Code 46-1-1203
• Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Probation: means release by the court without imprisonment of a defendant found guilty of a crime. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• 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
• Recidivism: means a circumstance in which any sentence is imposed for a new felony or in which a judge or the board of pardons and parole determines that a person convicted of a felony has violated the person's terms of probation or parole within 5 years of the imposition of a sentence for a previous felony conviction. See Montana Code 1-1-207
• Sentence: means the judicial disposition of a criminal proceeding upon a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or upon a verdict or finding of guilty. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Staff meeting: means the meeting before a participant's appearance in mental health treatment court in which the mental health treatment court team discusses a coordinated response to the participant's behavior. See Montana Code 46-1-1203
• 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
• Substance abuse: means the illegal or improper consumption of a drug, but does not include inadvertent error in the use of medication. See Montana Code 46-1-1203