Montana Title 44. Law Enforcement § 44-5-213. Procedures to ensure accuracy of criminal history records

(1) the department of justice shall maintain a centralized state repository of criminal history record information to serve all criminal justice agencies in the state;

(2) dispositions resulting from formal proceedings in a court having jurisdiction in a criminal action against an individual who has been photographed and fingerprinted under 44-5-202 shall be reported to the originating agency and the state repository within 15 days. If the dispositions can readily be collected and reported through the court system, the dispositions may be submitted to the state repository by the administrative office of the courts.

(3) an originating agency shall advise the state repository within 30 days of all dispositions concerning the termination of criminal proceedings against an individual who has been photographed and fingerprinted under 44-5-202;

(4) the department of corrections shall advise the state repository within 30 days of all dispositions subsequent to conviction of an individual who has been photographed and fingerprinted under 44-5-202;

(5) each criminal justice agency shall query the state repository prior to dissemination of any criminal history record information to ensure the timeliness of the information. When no final disposition is shown by the state repository records, the state repository shall query the source of the document or other appropriate source for current status. Inquiries must be made prior to any dissemination except in those cases in which time is of the essence and the repository is technically incapable of responding within the necessary time period. If time is of the essence, the inquiry must still be made and the response must be forwarded as soon as it is received.

(6) each criminal justice agency shall ensure that all its criminal justice information is complete, accurate, and current; and

(7) the department of justice shall adopt rules for criminal justice agencies other than those that are part of the judicial branch of government to implement this section. The department of justice may adopt rules for the same purpose for the judicial branch of government if the supreme court consents to the rules.