A Partner or Family Member Assault charge can upend your life overnight. One call to the police (sometimes during a heated argument, sometimes based on an exaggerated or false claim) and you may find yourself arrested, ordered to stay away from your own home, and facing a charge that threatens your record and your firearm rights. I've defended these cases as lead counsel in more than 50 trials, and the most important thing I can tell you is this: act early, and don't try to handle it alone.

What PFMA Means Under Montana Law

PFMA is defined in Montana Code Annotated § 45-5-206. It applies when someone is accused of purposely or knowingly causing bodily injury to a partner or family member, purposely or knowingly causing reasonable apprehension of bodily injury, or negligently causing bodily injury with a weapon. “Partner or family member” is broad: it covers spouses and former spouses, people who share a child, people in a current or past dating or ongoing intimate relationship, and parents, children, siblings, and other past or present family members of a household.

The Penalties Escalate Quickly

  • First offense: 24 hours to 1 year in the county jail and a fine of $100 to $1,000.
  • Second offense: 72 hours to 1 year in the county jail and a fine of $300 to $1,000.
  • Third or subsequent offense: 30 days to 5 years and a fine of $500 to $50,000. A term of 1 year or less is served in the county jail, a longer one in the state prison.
  • Every conviction: a counseling assessment and at least 40 hours of counseling, at your cost (MCA § 45-5-206(3) and (4)).

Beyond the criminal penalties, a PFMA conviction carries collateral consequences that can be just as damaging: possible loss of firearm rights, immigration consequences, and a domestic-violence record that surfaces in custody disputes and background checks.

The No-Contact Order

After a PFMA arrest, the court will typically impose a no-contact order as a condition of release. That order can prohibit any contact with the alleged victim and bar you from a shared home, sometimes leaving you locked out of your own residence and away from your children before you've had any chance to tell your side. We move quickly to address these conditions and, where appropriate, ask the court to modify them.

The Alleged Victim Cannot Drop the Charge

Many people are shocked to learn that the alleged victim cannot simply “drop” a PFMA charge. Once the State is involved, the decision belongs to the prosecutor. That means even a reluctant or recanting witness won't end the case on their own, and it's exactly why you need your own advocate working the case from the start.

How A&M Law Defends PFMA Cases

We start by getting the full picture: the 911 call, the responding officers' reports, any injuries or lack of them, and the context surrounding the allegation. From there we build the defense the facts support: self-defense, lack of injury or intent, false or exaggerated allegations (which can arise in contentious divorces and custody fights), or constitutional violations in how the case was handled. Every PFMA case is prepared as if it will go to trial, because that preparation is what protects you, whether the case is dismissed, reduced, or tried.

Montana Domestic Violence Guide

Still working out what the law says, what the court orders mean, or how these cases are defended? The Montana Domestic Violence Guide answers one question per page, with the statute cited. Start with the overview of each topic:

See all 144 articles in the Montana Domestic Violence Guide