Psychological Services Communication Archive Detail
Compensation Rates for Civil Commitment and Criminal Rule 20 Cases
Posted: Tuesday, October 18, 2022
To Minnesota Judicial Branch Rostered Psychological/Psychiatric Examiners:
The State Court Administrator has changed the maximum compensation rates for civil commitment cases and criminal Rule 20 cases to a statewide rate of $125.00/hour effective November 1, 2022. The metro area and outstate area differentiation was eliminated. This rate does not apply to exams performed by employee examiners. Any hourly, flat fee per case, or per service rate negotiated under a separate contract with the state, must not exceed the $125.00 per hour rate set by the State Court Administrator. The maximum statewide rate for psychiatrists, appointed in cases where the judge has determined that psychiatric testimony is necessary to evaluate the issue before the court, is $195.00 per hour.
As noted above, this rate will be effective November 1, 2022 and applies to any work requests assigned in the Examiner Resource Application (ERA) on or after this date. The rate will not apply to work requests assigned prior to November 1, 2022 in ERA.
We are all aware of the increasing number of criminal Rule 20 competency exams being conducted within the court system. At times, securing examiners to complete these exams can be challenging and we are asking for your assistance and collaboration in addressing this issue.
In the Examiner Resource Application (ERA), each of you have a profile that outlines the types of exams you are willing and qualified to conduct as well as the districts and counties where you are willing to work. As a result of the pandemic and an increase in the number of remote exams, we realize that this information likely may have changed since your ERA profile was initially created.
We are asking that you please go into your ERA profile, update the types of exams you are willing to conduct, and the locations where you are willing to work.
The
Quick Reference Guide - Managing Profile Information for Examiners, located on mncourts.gov, will assist you with completing this task . The information for updating the type of exams and locations is included at the top of page 3. This update will greatly assist local court staff in assigning examiners and hopefully reduce the number of inquiries you receive from the court for exams you don’t conduct or in locations where you are unwilling to work.
Lastly, we extend a sincere “thank you” to the examiners and institutions who have provided their forensic examination services to the Minnesota Judicial Branch over the last few years. The COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the increased volume of exams and current shortage of examiners has made for some challenging circumstances. We will continue to work with you and our justice partners to understand the complexities of these issues and develop solutions and efficiencies.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you.
Abby Kuschel