Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 46-6-201 (2026)

Issuance Of Arrest Warrant Upon Complaint

✓ current as of May 2026
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TITLE 46. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

CHAPTER 6. ARREST

Part 2. Arrest With a Warrant

Issuance Of Arrest Warrant Upon Complaint

46-6-201. Issuance of arrest warrant upon complaint. If it appears from the contents of the complaint and the examination of the complainant and from the examination of other witnesses or affidavits, if any, that there is probable cause to believe that the person against whom the complaint was made has committed an offense, a warrant shall be issued by the court for the arrest of the person complained against. The court, in its discretion, may issue a summons instead of a warrant. Upon the request of the prosecutor, the court shall issue a summons instead of a warrant. More than one warrant or summons may issue on the same complaint.

History: En. 95-603 by Sec. 1, Ch. 196, L. 1967; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 184, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 95-603(1) thru (3); amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 262, L. 1993.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases, 1983–2005 · leading case: Sacco v. High Country Indep. Press, Inc., 896 P.2d 411 (Mont. 1995).
Sacco v. High Country Indep. Press, Inc., 896 P.2d 411 (Mont. 1995). · cites it 4× “We conclude that the Notice to Appear and Complaint does not set forth sufficient facts which, in combination with Judge Smith’s examination of Dighans, satisfy the statutory requirement that it appear “from the contents of the [written] complaint and the examination [on oath]…”
State v. Allum, 2005 MT 150 (Mont. 2005). · cites it 4× “If the officer simply swears to his bald conclusions that the defendant committed the crime charged without either orally or in writing swearing to the factual basis for those conclusions, the magistrate has no legal basis on which to make the statutorily required finding of…”
State v. Woods, 662 P.2d 579 (Mont. 1983). · cites it 6× “" Section 41-5-302(1)(a), MCA. A warrant for the arrest of Woods was issued out of the Youth Court on March 19, 1981.”
State v. Johnson, 918 P.2d 293 (Mont. 1996). · cites it 6× “Section 46-11-110, MCA; Section 46-6-201, MCA. Specifically, § 46-11-110, MCA, provides: When a complaint is presented to a court charging a person with the commission of an offense, the court shall examine the sworn complaint or any affidavits, if filed, to determine whether…”
State v. Sor-Lokken, 805 P.2d 1367 (Mont. 1991). · cites it 3× “Section 46-6-201, MCA, provides that an arrest warrant may be issued when a written complaint is presented to a court charging a person with the commission of an offense and the court *348 examines the complainant under oath to determine if there is probable cause for the arrest.”
State v. Sor-Lokken, 803 P.2d 638 (Mont. 1991). · cites it 3× “Sanders County deputies arrested defendant two days later, and defendant appeared injustice court that same day. The State applied to the District Court for leave to file an information on August 4,1988, 20 days after the arrest, and filed the information on August 5,1988.”
State v. Kriesel, 2000 MT 144 (Mont. 2000). · cites it 2× “¶12 Kriesel argues that the informant supplied information which was not sufficiently corroborated, and therefore there was insufficient particularized suspicion to make the stop of Kriesel’s vehicle. However, Simonich was not determining “whether to arrest” Kriesel; the stop…”
State v. Sor-Lokken (Mont. 1990). · cites it 3× “Section 46-6-201, MCA, provides that an arrest warrant may be issued when a written complaint is presented to a court charging a person with the commission of an offense and the court examines the complainant under oath to determine if there is probable cause for the arrest.”
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.