The best time to hire a DUI lawyer in Montana is before your first court date, and within the first 30 days without fail if you refused a breath or blood test. You can bring a lawyer in later, and people often do. But a handful of steps have fixed dates near the start of a case, and once they pass they are hard or impossible to get back. This page sets out those dates. It is part of our Montana DUI Guide.
The Clocks That Start at Arrest
| What | When | MCA |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary driving permit after a refusal | Takes effect 12 hours after it is issued and is valid for 5 days from the date of issuance | § 61-8-1016(4)(c)(ii) |
| Petition to challenge a refusal suspension | Within 30 days after the officer gives notice of the right to a hearing, filed in district court in the county of arrest | § 61-8-1017(1) |
| Initial appearance | An arrested person must be taken before a judge without unnecessary delay. If you were cited and released, the date is on your paperwork | § 46-7-101(1) |
| Time to plead | On request at arraignment, a reasonable time of not less than 1 day to plead | § 46-12-203 |
| Pretrial motions | Raised at or before the omnibus hearing, or waived unless the court grants relief for cause | § 46-13-101 |
| Omnibus hearing | Within a reasonable time after a not guilty plea and not less than 30 days before trial | § 46-13-110(1) |
| Misdemeanor trial | Within 6 months after the plea, unless the defendant postponed the trial or the State shows good cause | § 46-13-401(2) |
The first two rows apply only if you refused a test. The rest apply to every misdemeanor DUI.
The 30-Day License Petition
A test refusal leads to a license suspension by the Motor Vehicle Division that does not depend on the criminal case. A first refusal is a 6-month suspension with no probationary license, and the suspension runs from the date of the refusal (MCA § 61-8-1032(2)(d), (4)(a)). The officer issues a temporary permit that is valid for 5 days.
The way to contest that suspension is a petition filed in the district court of the county where you were arrested, within 30 days after the officer gave notice of the right to a hearing (MCA § 61-8-1017(1)). On request the court may stay the suspension until the hearing (MCA § 61-8-1017(3)). The hearing is limited to two questions: whether the officer had a basis for requesting the test under the implied consent law, and whether you refused (MCA § 61-8-1017(4)).
This deadline is easy to miss, because it is in a different court from the DUI charge and nothing in the criminal case reminds you of it. See test refusal and implied consent and license suspension and hearings.
Your First Court Date
At the initial appearance the judge must tell you the charge, your right to counsel, and your right to refuse to make a statement (MCA § 46-7-102). You will be asked to plead. You have three choices that matter here: plead not guilty, ask for time to plead, or plead guilty.
If you ask, you must be given a reasonable time of not less than 1 day to plead (MCA § 46-12-203). A not guilty plea does not commit you to a trial. It starts the process of getting the evidence. A guilty plea is the one choice that is hard to undo. A DUI sentence cannot be deferred (MCA § 61-8-1011(4)), and before accepting the plea the court must confirm that you understand the penalties and the rights you are giving up (MCA § 46-12-210). A lawyer consulted before that date can tell you what you would be accepting. See whether you need a lawyer for a first DUI.
Evidence That Does Not Wait
The prosecutor must make the State's evidence available on request (MCA § 46-15-322), but some useful evidence is never in the prosecutor's file to begin with:
- video from a bar, restaurant, store, or parking lot showing how you walked, talked, and what you were served;
- receipts and card records that fix times and amounts;
- witnesses who were with you and whose memories are still fresh;
- the scene itself: the road surface, slope, lighting, and lane markings where the stop and roadside tests happened.
No statute we rely on here sets how long a private business or a police agency keeps video, so a written preservation request in the first days is the safe course. Your own memory is evidence too. Our page on what to bring to a consultation lists what to write down now.
One piece of evidence has the shortest window of all. You may request an independent blood sample drawn by a physician or registered nurse at your own expense (MCA § 61-8-1019(2)). That right is only useful close to the time of the arrest, usually before a lawyer is involved at all.
The Motion Cutoff
Challenges to the stop, the arrest, or the testing are made by written motion. Montana law requires any defense, objection, or request that can be decided without a trial to be raised at or before the omnibus hearing, and treats a failure to raise it on time as a waiver unless the court grants relief for cause (MCA § 46-13-101). The omnibus hearing is held within a reasonable time after a not guilty plea and at least 30 days before trial (MCA § 46-13-110(1)).
A lawyer needs the reports, the video, and the testing records before that hearing to know whether a motion exists. Hiring someone the week of the omnibus hearing leaves little room for that. See what a DUI lawyer does.
The 6-Month Rule Is Not a Reason to Wait
After a plea on a misdemeanor charge, the court must dismiss the case if the defendant is not brought to trial within 6 months, unless the defendant's own motion postponed the trial or the State shows good cause (MCA § 46-13-401(2)). Some people read that as a reason to do nothing and hope. It is not. The clock starts at the plea, not the arrest, and a continuance you ask for takes the case outside the rule.
If You Are Reading This Late
If the 30 days have passed, the criminal case is still open and everything in it can still be reviewed. If the omnibus hearing has passed, a court can grant relief from a waiver for cause. If you have a trial date, a lawyer can still prepare for it or negotiate. The honest summary is that earlier gives a lawyer more to work with, and that it is rarely too late for a conversation. Our list of questions to ask a DUI lawyer will help you use that conversation well.
This page explains Montana law in general as of the 2025 Montana Code Annotated. Deadlines in your case depend on your dates and paperwork. It is not legal advice about your specific case.