If you were arrested for partner or family member assault (PFMA) in Montana, start saving evidence right away: your messages and call logs as they exist now, photos of any injuries you have, the names of people who saw or heard what happened, and any video you control. Save all of it, change none of it, and give it to your lawyer. Do not contact anyone you are barred from contacting in order to gather it. This page is part of our Montana Domestic Violence Guide.
Why the First Days Matter
Evidence in a domestic case can be digital and short-lived. Phones auto-delete old messages. Camera systems record over old footage. Bruises fade. Memory fades too, including your own.
None of the PFMA statutes says how long a police agency, a 911 center, or a business must keep a recording. Retention depends on each holder's own practices and equipment. Because you cannot know those schedules from the outside, the only sound approach is to act quickly.
What to Save
| Item | How to preserve it |
|---|---|
| Texts, emails, and app messages | Leave the full threads on the device. Back up the phone. Take screenshots that show names, dates, and times, but keep the originals too. |
| Call logs and voicemails | Screenshot the log. Save voicemails to a file, since carriers and phones can drop them. |
| Photos of your own injuries | Photograph scratches, bruises, or torn clothing as soon as you can and again over the following days. Keep the original files. |
| Medical records | If you were treated, note where and when so your lawyer can request the records. |
| Names of witnesses | Write down who was present or nearby and what you believe each person saw or heard. Give the list to your lawyer. |
| Your own cameras | Download doorbell, security, or dash camera clips from your own account before the system overwrites them. |
| Location and receipts | Ride receipts, card transactions, work time records, and similar items that show where you were and when. |
Also write your own account of what happened while it is fresh, with times as best you remember them. Address it to your lawyer and give it only to your lawyer. Communications between a client and an attorney are protected from disclosure without the client's consent (MCA § 26-1-803).
Save Everything, Change Nothing
Preserving evidence does not mean choosing the helpful parts. A person who alters, destroys, conceals, or removes a record, document, or thing, with purpose to impair its verity or availability in a proceeding or investigation the person believes is pending or about to begin, commits tampering with or fabricating physical evidence (MCA § 45-7-207(1)(a)). Creating or presenting something you know is false is covered by the same statute (MCA § 45-7-207(1)(b)).
In practical terms:
- Do not delete messages, photos, posts, or accounts.
- Do not crop, annotate, or edit original files. Work on copies if you need to mark something for your lawyer.
- Turn off auto-delete settings in messaging apps.
- Do not factory-reset or trade in the phone.
How messages and photos are used in court is covered in texts, photos, and digital evidence.
Witnesses: Names, Not Conversations
Knowing who was there is valuable. Talking to them about the case is risky. A release order can require you to avoid all contact with any potential witness who may testify (MCA § 46-9-108(1)(e)(ii)), and attempting to induce a witness to testify falsely or withhold information is a separate offense punishable by up to 10 years in state prison (MCA § 45-7-206).
So the task is simple: make a list with names, phone numbers if you already have them, and a sentence about what each person saw or heard. Hand it to your lawyer. If the protected person is one of the witnesses, the no contact order answers the question on its own. See what not to do after an arrest.
Video and Recordings Held by Others
Useful recordings may be in someone else's hands: a neighbor's doorbell camera, a bar or store security system, a 911 center, or an officer's body camera. You should not approach the protected person or go to a shared home to get any of it.
A lawyer can ask the holder in writing to preserve the recording, and can obtain police materials through discovery. Upon request, the prosecutor must make available witness statements, the defendant's own statements, photographs and tangible objects the prosecutor may use at trial, and all material that tends to mitigate or negate guilt (MCA § 46-15-322(1)). Our pages on discovery in a PFMA case, the 911 call as evidence, and body cameras, photos, and medical records explain each source.
Do Not Create New Problems While Collecting
- No secret recordings. Recording a conversation with a hidden device without the knowledge of all parties is an offense under Montana's privacy in communications statute, with an exception where a warning is given (MCA § 45-8-213(1)(c), (2)(a)(iii)).
- No access to the other person's phone, email, or accounts. Purposely intercepting an electronic communication is also an offense under that statute (MCA § 45-8-213(3)).
- No contact to "get proof." A message sent to draw out an admission is still a violation of the order.
Why Organization Helps Your Lawyer
Some defenses have notice requirements. Montana's discovery statute calls for written notice of an intention to rely on defenses such as justifiable use of force within 30 days after arraignment, or a later time the court permits for good cause, along with the names of supporting witnesses (MCA § 46-15-323(2), (4)). How that applies in your court is a question for your lawyer, but it shows why early, organized information matters. If you believe you acted to protect yourself, read self-defense in a PFMA case.
This page explains Montana law in general as of the 2025 Montana Code Annotated. It is not legal advice about your specific case.