Psychological Services Communication Archive Detail
Updated Rule 20 Examiner Report Templates Published

Posted: Wednesday, March 2, 2022

The Judicial Branch’s State Court Administrator’s Office (SCAO) recently released Minn. R. Crim. P. Rule 20 orders and examiner report templates. Initial feedback on the templates provided valuable information on useability and SCAO used that feedback to revise the templates. The new examiner report templates are now available on the Psych Services webpage. A new Rule 20 cover sheet has also been merged into each report template so that examiners can eFile the cover sheet and report as one document.
 
To ensure that judges and parties receive consistent information as required by court rule, all contract examiners are required to use the new examiner report templates, except when the exam is performed for Regional Psychological Services (RPS).  
 
The examiner report templates are now Fillable Smart Forms which makes it easier to complete and eFile your reports. Additional benefits of the new format include the ability to:
  • Easily type directly into the template with fields that expand as needed to accommodate content,
  • Use new features like spellcheck and shortcut keys to format fonts,
  • Add subheadings and copy and paste content from a Word document,
  • “Save for Editing” so that you can save your work and return to it later, and
  • “Prepare for eFile” to create a form that you can eFile, including the addition of a /s/ in front of your name for a typographical signature and a .pdf that cannot be edited by others.
Please be aware that when using Fillable Smart Forms for the first time, you may need to change the default settings on your browser so that PDF documents open in Acrobat and not the web browser. Review the revised Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), Fast Facts, and Quick Reference Guides on the Court Forms Information Help Topic site for more helpful information. Steps for updating your browser are covered in FAQ #5.  
 
SCAO will ask for additional feedback on your experiences with the revised report templates in the coming months with a goal to publish final versions of the examiner report templates in June 2022.
 
Please contact psychexaminerprogram@courts.state.mn.us with questions.
 

Abby Kuschel
Supervisor, Programs and Ancillary Services
State Court Administrator's Office