Bozeman, MontanaBozeman Civil Rights
Bozeman Civil Rights Lawyers: Jail Deaths, In-Custody Injuries and Excessive Force Claims in Gallatin County
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If someone was seriously injured or died while held at the Gallatin County Detention Center, or was hurt by excessive force during an arrest in the Bozeman area, the family or the injured person may have a civil rights claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, along with claims under Montana law. These cases turn on federal standards, government-liability rules and evidence that 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 agencies hold people in custody around Bozeman?
Knowing which agency held the person, or used the force, decides who can be sued and under which rules:
- Gallatin County Detention Center, 605 South 16th Avenue, Bozeman, is a division of the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office. Most people held there are awaiting trial rather than serving sentences. The jail can hold sentenced inmates for up to a year, and it holds some inmates for other agencies under contract, including Madison County and Yellowstone National Park (Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, Detention Center).
- Bozeman Police Department, for arrests and force inside the city.
- Gallatin County Sheriff’s deputies, for the unincorporated county, including Big Sky’s Gallatin County side and Four Corners.
- Police in Belgrade, Manhattan, Three Forks and West Yellowstone, within their towns.
- Montana State University’s police, on campus, and the Montana Highway Patrol on the highways. Both are state agencies, and claims against the State follow different presentation rules than claims against a county or city.
People held for a federal agency, such as someone arrested in Yellowstone National Park, raise separate federal-law questions. We sort out who had custody at each step.
What happens after a death or serious injury in custody in Gallatin County?
The coroner’s inquest. In Gallatin County, the Sheriff also serves as Coroner. Montana law requires the county attorney to order an inquest before a coroner’s jury when a person dies in a jail, or in the custody of a peace officer, with limited exceptions such as when criminal charges will be filed. A coroner who is also a peace officer may not conduct the inquest into a death in that coroner’s own jail or custody; the county attorney must bring in a qualified coroner from another jurisdiction (§ 46-4-201, MCA). Families can attend. The inquest is not a civil case, but the testimony and exhibits are important evidence.
An independent autopsy. Families often ask whether they should arrange their own autopsy. In many in-custody death cases it is worth considering promptly, before burial or cremation.
Preserve the jail’s records. The evidence usually belongs to the county: surveillance and body-camera video, cell-check and observation logs, booking and suicide-screening forms, medical records from the jail’s health provider, incident reports and phone and radio records. We send written preservation demands immediately. Records for the Detention Center, the Sheriff’s Office and the Bozeman Police Department are handled through Gallatin County Support Services/Records (gallatinmt.gov).
Present the state-law claim. Claims against Gallatin County or a city under Montana law must be presented to its clerk or secretary (§ 2-9-301, MCA).
The court. Section 1983 claims are usually filed in federal court. For Gallatin County, that is the Butte Division at the Mike Mansfield Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 400 North Main Street, Butte (D. Mont. L.R. 1.2). Montana wrongful-death and survival claims can be joined there, or brought in the Eighteenth Judicial District Court at the Gallatin County Law and Justice Center, 515 South 16th Avenue, next door to the Detention Center (§ 3-5-101, MCA).
Montana and federal law that applies
Our Montana civil rights and jail death lawyer page explains these rules in more detail. In brief:
- Section 1983 allows a lawsuit against a person who, acting under state authority, violates constitutional rights (42 U.S.C. § 1983), and a court may award attorney’s fees to a prevailing plaintiff (§ 1988).
- Pretrial detainees are protected by the Fourteenth Amendment; excessive force is judged by whether it was objectively unreasonable (Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 576 U.S. 389 (2015)), and in the Ninth Circuit medical-care claims use an objective deliberate-indifference standard (Gordon v. County of Orange, 9th Cir. 2018).
- Counties and cities are liable only for their own policy or custom (Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978)). Individual officers may raise qualified immunity (Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982)).
- Montana claims: constitutional rights to individual dignity and against cruel and unusual punishment (Art. II, § 4; § 22), and wrongful death and survival (§ 27-1-513, MCA). State-law damages against a government entity are capped at $750,000 per claim and $1.5 million per occurrence (§ 2-9-108, MCA).
- Deadline: § 1983 claims borrow Montana’s 3-year personal-injury period (§ 27-2-204, MCA).
What kinds of cases do families bring us?
Jail cases tend to follow the same few patterns: suicide risk that was known or should have been recognized at booking, withdrawal from alcohol or opioids that was not monitored, a medical emergency that staff did not act on, an assault by another inmate the jail should have prevented, and force used during booking, restraint or a cell extraction. Arrest cases involve force against people who were already handcuffed or compliant, Taser use, and shootings. In each, the question is what the officers and the agency knew, what they did, and what their own policies required.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Bozeman case?
Civil rights cases against a county are federal-court cases defended by experienced government counsel and insurers. We are based in Great Falls, handle these cases across Montana, and our attorneys travel to Bozeman and Butte for inspections, depositions, hearings and trial. We do not have a Bozeman office. We have brought a jail-death case against a Montana county to resolution and know how these claims are built.
The Boland Aarab Way
- Jail death experience. We represented the estate and family in Estate of Alexander v. Cascade County, a § 1983 and wrongful-death case over a death at the Cascade County Detention Center, which resolved in 2023 with a $550,000 settlement (case summary).
- Federal court experience. 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.
- Trial lawyers. Our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- Part of the civil justice community. Both attorneys are AAJ and MTLA members, and Samir Aarab is a Public Justice member.
We also handle wrongful death cases in Bozeman and medical malpractice cases in Bozeman. See our Bozeman personal injury page for more.
Frequently Asked Questions
My family member died at the Gallatin County Detention Center. Will there be an inquest? Montana law generally requires one for a death in a jail. Because the Gallatin County Sheriff is also the Coroner, the law requires a coroner from another jurisdiction to conduct it.
Which court hears a civil rights case from the Bozeman jail? Usually the U.S. District Court’s Butte Division, which covers Gallatin County. Montana state-law claims can be joined there or filed in the Eighteenth Judicial District Court in Bozeman.
Can we sue Gallatin County, or only the officers? Both may be possible. The county is liable under § 1983 only if its own policy, custom or training failure caused the harm; individual officers may raise qualified immunity.
My son was hurt during an arrest by Bozeman police. What should we do? Get medical care and records, write down what happened and who was there, and call promptly. Body-camera video and witness accounts are often decisive, and a claim against the city must be presented in writing.
How long do we have to bring a jail death claim in Montana? Generally three years for § 1983 and wrongful-death claims, but the jail’s video and logs can be lost far sooner. Call right away.
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
