Gallatin County Attorney

Audrey Cromwell, a daughter of Billings and graduate of the University of Montana’s law school, has served her fellow Montanans as a Judge pro tem, prosecutor, public defender, legal aid attorney, criminal defense attorney and Gallatin County Attorney.

Her depth and breadth of service in criminal law brings a sharp legal perspective tempered by a passion for collaboration. 

Every day as County Attorney, Audrey Cromwell has brought folks together to fight for public safety across Gallatin County.

County Attorney Cromwell believes that every person living in Gallatin County has a right to be and feel safe—and that is what she has worked to deliver: from clearing a backlog of over 600 unfiled felonies discovered upon taking office (including 113 sexual assault cases, 52 of which involved children), to securing a federal partnership under the Violence Against Women Act combatting domestic violence involving a firearm, to transforming the office from a 15% staffed “skeleton crew” of 6 attorneys into an effective, experienced team of 40 attorneys, Victim Advocates, and support staff—her mission is to do everything she can to protect and serve Gallatin County.

County Attorney Cromwell has delivered results on issues that matter most; she has shown up every day and in moments of crisis; proving that a sharp legal perspective tempered by a passion for collaboration can ignite powerful change. Now, she is running for re-election to hold offenders accountable, protect victims, defend public safety, and stand up for the rule of law safeguarded by our U.S. and Montana Constitutions.

Under Audrey Cromwell’s leadership, the office has prosecuted 3,058 felonies and 4,185 misdemeanors in 3 years alone, established a life-saving, 90-day Community Commitment program for those in mental health crisis, launched the PIVOT program which diverts first-time, low level offenders (non-violent, non-sexual, non-DUI) into community supervision for treatment and accountability rather than jail, and established trauma-informed training for her team, which includes matters related to Sexual Assault, Strangulation, Domestic Violence, DUIs, and Forensic Interviewing. 

Now, victims or witnesses of crimes supported by the her office and its Victim Services team, can meet safely and comfortably in trauma-informed interview rooms with prosecutors, Victim Advocates, and law enforcement.

Audrey sees her role as County Attorney as one of both support and accountability along the law enforcement continuum in its difficult work: in addition to meeting weekly, monthly, and quarterly with law enforcement partners, she launched an online portal across all 10 agency partners to expedite requests for prosecution and case processing. Since taking office in 2023, County Attorney Cromwell has provided 24/7 on-call support for law enforcement, served on the Missouri River Drug Task Force’s Executive Board, supported law enforcement requests for federal funding, and completed a backlog of 10 coroner’s inquests, important in maintaining trust and transparency between law enforcement and the public.   

Raised in Billings, Montana by service-minded parents in the medical field, she previously served her fellow Montanans as a Judge pro tem, prosecutor, public defender, legal aid attorney, and criminal defense attorney. After graduating from the University of Montana law school nearly 20 years ago, she deepend her commitment to Gallatin County by starting her own law firm here (criminal defense, divorce, child custody, child abuse and neglect, business law, and immigration), marrying Charlie Cromwell at nearby Chico Hot Springs (a fellow UM law student and U.S. Army veteran who grew up harvesting wheat on his cousins’ farm in the golden triangle), and raising their son in the Gallatin Valley.

Through it all, County Attorney Cromwell has never stopped fighting to make our beloved Gallatin County a safer, more caring place to live, work, and go to school.