Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 45-5-208 (2026)

Negligent Endangerment -- Penalty

✓ current as of May 2026
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TITLE 45. CRIMES

CHAPTER 5. OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON

Part 2. Assault and Related Offenses

Negligent Endangerment -- Penalty

45-5-208. Negligent endangerment -- penalty. (1) A person who negligently engages in conduct that creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another commits the offense of negligent endangerment.

(2) A person convicted of the offense of negligent endangerment shall be fined an amount not to exceed $1,000 or imprisoned in the county jail for a term not to exceed 1 year, or both.

History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 196, L. 1987.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 32 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1991–2025 · leading case: State v. Lambert, 929 P.2d 846 (Mont. 1996).
State v. Lambert, 929 P.2d 846 (Mont. 1996). · cites it 8× “2d 320 , we rejected the notion that either criminal endangerment or negligent endangerment (§ 45-5-208, MCA) required the State to prove that any specifically identified individual was put at risk by the defendant's conduct in firing several gunshots from a moving vehicle in…”
State v. Clifford, 2005 MT 219 (Mont. 2005). · cites it 4× “That November, in his capacity as a police officer, Larry filed a complaint against Hurst for negligent endangerment under § 45-5-208, MCA (1995). The Church helped Hurst hire a lawyer, who successfully moved the court to dismiss the charges because the statute of limitations…”
State v. Martinosky, 1999 MT 122 (Mont. 1999). · cites it 9× “) A person commits the offense of negligent endangerment, in violation of § 45-5-208(1), MCA, when he " negligently engages in conduct that creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another.”
Porter v. State, 2002 MT 319 (Mont. 2002). · cites it 4× “¶ 1 Appellant Steven Porter was convicted of criminal endangerment, a felony, in violation of § 45-5-207, MCA (1997), negligent endangerment, a misdemeanor, in violation of § 45-5-208, MCA (1997), and misdemeanor assault, in violation of § 45-5-201(1), MCA (1997), in the…”
State v. Bell, 923 P.2d 524 (Mont. 1996). · cites it 6× “Section 45-5-208(1), MCA, defines negligent endangerment: A person who negligently engages in conduct that creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another commits the offense of negligent endangerment.”
State v. Schipman, 2000 MT 102 (Mont. 2000). · cites it 14× “Schipman (Schipman) was convicted of negligent homicide, a felony, pursuant to § 45-5-104, MCA (1995), and negligent endangerment, a misdemeanor, pursuant to § 45-5-208, MCA (1995). Schipman appeals from the Findings, Reasons, Judgment & Order Deferring Imposition of Sentence…”
Safeco Ins. Co. of Am. v. Liss, 2000 MT 380 (Mont. 2000). · cites it 4× “, § 45-5-201 (defining assault as negligently causing bodily injury to another with a weapon); § 45-5-208, MCA (defining negligent endangerment as conduct that creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury).”
Montana v. Larson, 843 P.2d 777 (Mont. 1992). · cites it 9× “This is an appeal from a judgment of the First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County, convicting Larson of negligent endangerment in violation of Section 45-5-208, MCA. Affirmed. The issues on appeal are: 1.”
State v. Fisch, 881 P.2d 626 (Mont. 1994). · cites it 3× “” Section 45-5-208(1), MCA. Fisch argues that the offense of negligent endangerment requires a lesser mental state and a lesser standard *523 of harm than aggravated assault and, as a result, that negligent endangerment is a lesser included offense of aggravated assault under §…”
Davis v. State, 2004 MT 112 (Mont. 2004). · cites it 2× “These petitions alleged Davis had violated several conditions of his deferred sentence, namely, drinking *121 intoxicants, possessing alcoholic beverages, failing to complete anger management counseling, and, on June 4, 2001, pleading guilty in Mineral County to negligent…”
State v. Martinez, 1998 MT 265 (Mont. 1998). · cites it 3× “Section 45-5-208, MCA. The District Court refused the instruction and Martinez asserts error.”
State v. Clark, 2000 MT 40 (Mont. 2000). · cites it 4× “Count I was amended at Clark’s initial appearance for driving while under the influence (third offense) to negligent endangerment in violation of § 45-5-208, MCA. ¶8 On September 5,1995, Clark was also cited for numerous misdemeanor traffic offenses.”
— Mont. Code Ann. § 45-5-208(1) — 8 cases
State v. Martinosky, 1999 MT 122 (Mont. 1999). “) A person commits the offense of negligent endangerment, in violation of § 45-5-208(1), MCA, when he " negligently engages in conduct that creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another.”
State v. Bell, 923 P.2d 524 (Mont. 1996). “Section 45-5-208(1), MCA, defines negligent endangerment: A person who negligently engages in conduct that creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another commits the offense of negligent endangerment.”
State v. Fisch, 881 P.2d 626 (Mont. 1994). “” Section 45-5-208(1), MCA. Fisch argues that the offense of negligent endangerment requires a lesser mental state and a lesser standard *523 of harm than aggravated assault and, as a result, that negligent endangerment is a lesser included offense of aggravated assault under §…”
State v. Schipman, 2000 MT 102 (Mont. 2000). “Schipman (Schipman) was convicted of negligent homicide, a felony, pursuant to § 45-5-104, MCA (1995), and negligent endangerment, a misdemeanor, pursuant to § 45-5-208, MCA (1995). Schipman appeals from the Findings, Reasons, Judgment & Order Deferring Imposition of Sentence…”
State v. Brown, 893 P.2d 320 (Mont. 1995).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.