Billings, MontanaBillings Civil Rights
Billings Civil Rights Lawyers: Jail Deaths, In-Custody Injuries and Excessive Force Claims in Yellowstone County
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If someone was seriously injured or died in the Yellowstone County Detention Facility, the Montana Women’s Prison or another Billings-area lockup, or was hurt by excessive force from police or corrections officers, the injured person or the family may have a civil rights claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and claims under Montana law. These cases are filed in federal court in Billings, and the evidence must be preserved quickly.
Lost a family member in custody, or hurt by excessive force? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Which jails and detention facilities are in Billings?
Several, and each is run by a different government, which changes who may be responsible and how a claim is presented.
- Yellowstone County Detention Facility (YCDF). The county jail, operated by the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, is at 3165 King Avenue East. According to the county, it was dedicated in 1987, was designed for 174 inmates, and added two dormitory-style units with 100 more beds in 1997; the county describes it as a “Direct Supervision” facility (Yellowstone County Sheriff, Detention Facility). Most people held there are pretrial detainees awaiting trial, not convicted prisoners.
- Montana Women’s Prison. The Montana Department of Corrections operates the state’s women’s prison at 701 South 27th Street in Billings, housing roughly 240 women (Montana DOC). A claim involving a state facility is a claim against the State of Montana.
- Police and sheriff’s custody. Arrests and transports by the Billings Police Department, the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office and the Montana Highway Patrol can give rise to excessive-force and medical-neglect claims before a person ever reaches a jail.
The Billings Division of the federal court also covers the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations, where tribal and federal law enforcement may be involved. Those cases can raise questions of tribal and federal jurisdiction. Our attorneys are not admitted in tribal courts, but we can seek admission quickly when a case requires it.
We do not make or repeat accusations against any facility or official. Every case starts with the records.
What happens after a death or serious injury in custody in Billings?
Death investigation. Montana’s Medical Examiner Office has a location at the State Crime Lab’s Eastern Forensic Science Division in Billings (Montana DOJ), and the county coroner function in Yellowstone County runs through the Sheriff’s Office. Families are entitled to ask about the autopsy, and an independent review is sometimes needed.
Preserve the evidence immediately. The most important proof belongs to the government: housing-unit and booking video, cell-check and observation logs, intake medical and suicide screening forms, medical records from any contracted jail health provider, incident reports, radio traffic and phone logs. Jail video and electronic logs may be overwritten on short schedules. We send written preservation demands at the outset.
Present the state-law claim. Claims under Montana law against Yellowstone County or the City of Billings must be presented to the county or city clerk; claims against the State, for the Women’s Prison, go to the Department of Administration (§ 2-9-301, MCA).
File in federal court. Section 1983 cases from Billings are heard in the Billings Division of the U.S. District Court at the James F. Battin Federal Courthouse, 2601 2nd Avenue North (District of Montana). Rulings on qualified immunity can be appealed to the Ninth Circuit before trial. State claims may be filed with the federal case or in the Thirteenth Judicial District Court (§ 3-5-101, MCA).
What must be proven?
For pretrial detainees, the Fourteenth Amendment applies. Excessive force is judged by whether it was objectively unreasonable (Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 576 U.S. 389 (2015)), and in the Ninth Circuit, which includes Montana, inadequate medical care claims are judged by an objective deliberate-indifference standard (Gordon v. County of Orange (9th Cir. 2018)). For convicted prisoners, such as those at the Women’s Prison, the Eighth Amendment applies, with a more demanding standard.
For arrests, the Fourth Amendment’s objective-reasonableness test applies (Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989)).
Against the county or city, liability requires the entity’s own policy, custom, or deliberately indifferent failure to train (Monell, 436 U.S. 658 (1978)). Individual officers may raise qualified immunity (Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982)); counties and cities may not.
Montana law that applies
- Section 1983 and attorney’s fees for a prevailing plaintiff (42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1988).
- Montana constitutional rights to dignity and freedom from cruel and unusual punishment (Art. II, § 4; § 22), plus wrongful-death and survival claims.
- Government limits: caps of $750,000 per claim and $1.5 million per occurrence on state-law claims (§ 2-9-108, MCA), and no punitive damages against the entity (§ 2-9-105, MCA).
- Deadlines: generally 3 years for § 1983 and wrongful-death claims; 2 years for state-law assault and battery (§ 27-2-204, MCA).
See our Montana civil rights and jail death page for more on these standards.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Billings case?
Jail-death and excessive-force cases are federal cases, built on the government’s own records and fought through immunity motions and appeals. We are based in Great Falls and handle these cases across Montana. Our attorneys travel to Billings for depositions, hearings and trial, our firm has tried jury trials in Yellowstone County, and we practice regularly in the District of Montana and the Ninth Circuit. We do not have a Billings office.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We have held a county accountable for a death in custody. In Estate of Alexander v. Cascade County, a civil rights and wrongful-death case, we obtained a $550,000 settlement.
- We know federal and appellate court. More than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years; Samir Aarab has argued twice before the Ninth Circuit.
- We try cases. More than a dozen jury trials, in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties, and more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- We are part of the trial bar. Both attorneys are AAJ and MTLA members; Samir Aarab is also a member of Public Justice.
Related Billings pages: wrongful death · medical malpractice · all Billings cases
Frequently Asked Questions
Can our family sue after a death at the Yellowstone County jail? Possibly. The estate may bring § 1983 and survival claims, and the family wrongful-death claims, if the death resulted from constitutional violations or negligence. The records must be preserved immediately.
Where would a Billings jail-death case be filed? In the Billings Division of the U.S. District Court, at the James F. Battin Federal Courthouse. Related state-law claims can be joined there.
What is different about a claim involving the Montana Women’s Prison? It is run by the State, so a state-law claim goes to the Department of Administration first, and prisoners’ Eighth Amendment claims use a more demanding standard than pretrial detainees’ claims.
Can I sue Yellowstone County, or only the officers? Both, in some cases. The county is liable under § 1983 only for its own policies, customs or failures to train (Monell); individual officers may be sued for their own conduct.
How long do we have? Generally 3 years for § 1983 and wrongful-death claims, and 2 years for state-law assault and battery (§ 27-2-204, MCA). Evidence can be lost far sooner.
Talk to a Billings Civil Rights Lawyer
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
