Slope County, North Dakota — The Jail, the Sheriff, the Judges

The Detention Center

Southwest Multi-County Correctional Center (Dickinson Adult Detention Center)

Operated bySouthwest Multi-County Correctional Center joint powers board (Administrator Michael Moseley)
Who runs itMichael Moseley — Administrator, Southwest Multi-County Correctional Center
Answers tothe Southwest Multi-County Correctional Center board
Why this is differentThe elected county sheriff does not run this jail.
Slope's roleOne of seven counties governing the joint-powers board that owns and funds this facility, located in Dickinson, Stark County
Rated capacity124 beds
Population on inspection date83 (Aug 27-28, 2025)
Grade1
Standards compliance107 compliant, 0 non-compliant, 1 not applicable

Source: Southwest Multi-County Correctional Center — DOCR inspection report (Aug 27-28, 2025) · checked 2026-08-25

Transparency rating

0/10Closed

✗The jail is named — not published
✗Who is in custody — not published
✗Beds and daily population — not published
✗What it costs taxpayers — not published
✗Deaths in custody — not published
✗PREA audits — not published
✗Independent inspection — not published
✗Who else it holds, and for how much — not published
✗How to post bond — not published
✗Phone, video and commissary rates — not published

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Slope County publishes about a jail its taxpayers own, checked 2026-08-25. Nothing here says the jail is run well or badly. Every mark moves the moment the county posts the document.

The Building

You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.

Year builtNot found
Original costNot found
Paid for byNot found
BedsNot applicable — no Slope County jail; see Southwest Multi-County Correctional Center (124 beds)

Since then

Not found

The Sheriff

Sheriff Rory Teigen

Runs the jailNo county jail — Slope County has no operating adult facility of its own
ElectedNDCC 11-10-02 requires each county to have an elected sheriff, four-year term
ContactSlope County Courthouse, 206 Main St, Amidon, ND 58620; office 701-879-6271

Still needed

Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail

Source: North Dakota Court System — Slope County court location page · checked 2026-08-25

The Judges

North Dakota district judges are elected on a nonpartisan ballot to six-year terms (ND Constitution Art. VI, Sec. 1). Midterm vacancies are filled by the Governor from a list submitted by a judicial nominating committee, unless the Governor instead calls a special election (ND Constitution Art. VI, Sec. 13). District judges are state judicial officers, not county officials. Under ND Supreme Court Administrative Rule 20, a presiding judge may appoint a magistrate with delegated authority to hold initial appearances and set bail under NDCC ch. 29-08.

District Court — Southwest Judicial District

Not listed on the page opened

Still needed

The county's bond schedule
Share of the jail population held pretrial
Median time from booking to first appearance

Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-08-25

The County Commissioners

They pay for the jail. The sheriff runs it.

What they controlThe detention budget, the building itself, and the agreements that let other agencies rent its beds.
What they don'tDay-to-day operations. The sheriff is separately elected and answers to voters, not to the board.
The boardBoard of County Commissioners →
Where the jail money is decidedAgendas and minutes →

Notes on the record

Slope County has no jail of its own. It is one of seven counties that jointly govern and fund the Southwest Multi-County Correctional Center in Dickinson (Stark County) under NDCC 12-44.1-02(1)(c); this is a governing partnership, not just a contract to send prisoners elsewhere.
Slope County's own website (slopecountynd.gov) publishes commission meeting minutes but no jail roster, budget, PREA, inspection, contract, bond, or fee information was found on the pages opened, so the ten checks are recorded 'no'.
Board of County Commissioners (NDCC 11-11-01). The county's own site publishes a commission section (district map and meeting minutes archive Jan 2022-Jun 2026) but individual commissioner names were not shown on the pages opened.

These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Slope County and what it costs the people who live here. Nationally, almost 77% of the people who died in local jails in 2019 had not been convicted of anything, and suicide was the leading single cause of those deaths (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2019).

How much is your sheriff — and your judge — costing you?

Your VOTE is POWERFUL.

The sheriff who runs this jail is elected. So are the commissioners who pay for it.

Names verified 2026-08-25 · dollars and outcomes still being gathered