In a Montana domestic violence case, the evidence gathered in the first hour can include video, photographs, statements, and medical records, and the defense is entitled to request it from the prosecutor under MCA § 46-15-322. You will not have seen most of it when you are arrested. This page describes each kind, what it can and cannot show, and how it reaches your lawyer. It is part of our Montana Domestic Violence Guide.
What Is Collected and How the Defense Gets It
| Evidence | What it can show | Discovery category (MCA) |
|---|---|---|
| Body camera and patrol car video | What was said and done at the scene, in sequence, including your own statements | Tangible objects and defendant's statements, § 46-15-322(1)(b), (d) |
| Injury and scene photographs | Visible marks on each person, and the condition of the room | Photographs the prosecutor may use at trial, § 46-15-322(1)(d) |
| Written or recorded statements | The other person's and witnesses' accounts close to the event | Statements of persons the State may call, § 46-15-322(1)(a) |
| Medical and exam records | Findings, treatment, and what the patient told providers | Expert reports and results of physical examinations, § 46-15-322(1)(c) |
| Evidence that helps the defense | Anything tending to mitigate or negate guilt or reduce a sentence | § 46-15-322(1)(e) |
The right column is our reading of where each item fits in the discovery statute. The statute lists categories of material. It does not name body cameras.
Body-Worn and Patrol Car Cameras
Where an agency uses cameras, the footage is the closest thing to a neutral record of the scene. It can show how each person looked and sounded, what questions were asked, in what order people were interviewed, and whether a statement in the report matches what was said.
It has limits. A camera points where the officer faces, may be switched on after the first contact, and does not show what happened before police arrived. Your own words on the recording can be offered against you (Montana Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2)), which is the subject of talking to police at the scene.
Photographs of Injuries and the Scene
Officers photograph what they can see: marks, torn clothing, broken objects. In a case with mutual aggression, the "relative severity of injuries received by each person" is one of the things the officer must consider (MCA § 46-6-311(2)(b)(ii)), so photographs of both people matter.
A photograph shows a mark, not its cause. A scratch can come from an attack or from someone trying to get free. An injury may not be visible at first, and photographs taken a day or two later may look different from those taken that night. If you were injured, photograph it yourself, note the date, and tell your lawyer.
Written and Recorded Statements
Officers may ask the other person and witnesses for a written or recorded statement. The prosecutor must disclose the names, addresses, and statements of the witnesses the State may call (MCA § 46-15-322(1)(a)).
A statement taken at the scene is not automatically admissible at trial in place of live testimony. In Davis v. Washington, 547 U.S. 813 (2006), the U.S. Supreme Court treated an affidavit that police took from a woman after the emergency had ended as testimonial, so it could not be used without an opportunity for cross-examination. Our page on the 911 call as evidence explains that rule.
Medical Records and Strangulation Exams
If anyone was treated by paramedics or at a hospital, there will be records. Medical records are private. The Montana Constitution protects individual privacy (Art. II, § 10), and the investigative subpoena statute treats medical records as "constitutionally protected material" that requires a showing of compelling state interest (MCA § 46-4-301(3)). Records may reach the file when the patient signs a release.
What a patient tells a provider can come into evidence. Statements made for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment, describing symptoms, pain, or the general character of the cause insofar as reasonably pertinent to diagnosis or treatment, are an exception to the hearsay rule (Montana Rule of Evidence 803(4)).
Where the allegation involves the neck or breathing, a medical exam can become central. Strangulation of a partner or family memberis defined as purposely or knowingly impeding normal breathing or circulation of the blood by applying pressure on the throat or neck or blocking air flow to the nose and mouth (MCA § 45-5-215(1)). The statute's elements do not include a visible injury, so the State may rely on an examiner's findings and the reported symptoms. The defense can obtain written reports of experts who examined evidence in the case, with the results of physical examinations (MCA § 46-15-322(1)(c)), and can have its own expert review them.
Discovery: The Prosecutor's Duties
Discovery in Montana starts with a request. "Upon request, the prosecutor shall make available to the defendant for examination and reproduction" the listed material within the prosecutor's possession or control (MCA § 46-15-322(1)). Three further points:
- The obligation extends to material held by the prosecutor's staff "and of any other persons who have participated in the investigation or evaluation of the case" (MCA § 46-15-322(4)).
- If the defense needs something not otherwise covered and cannot get its equivalent without undue hardship, the court may order any person to make it available (MCA § 46-15-322(5)).
- Material that tends to mitigate or negate guilt must be disclosed (MCA § 46-15-322(1)(e)).
More on timing and motions is in discovery in a PFMA case.
Your Own Evidence
The State's file is not the only one. Your own photographs, medical records, messages, and call logs may fill gaps. Keep everything and delete nothing, including material you think hurts you. Destroying evidence is a serious matter in itself. Do not ask the other person or any witness for records or statements, and never contact a person protected by a no contact order. Give names and details to your lawyer. See preserving evidence for your defense.
A&M Law defends PFMA and other domestic violence charges in Western Montana. Our domestic violence defense page describes that work.
This page explains Montana law in general as of the 2025 Montana Code Annotated. It is not legal advice about your specific case.