Description and Congruence (“Fit”) between Dusky's Prongs and Selected Competency Measures
| Measure | Scale (n) | Type | M Length | Dusky Prong | Representative Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacCAT-CA | Understanding (8) | Hypoth | 45.3 | Factual understanding | Roles of courtroom personnel; understanding different criminal charges related to assault; understanding convictions and plea bargaining |
| Reasoning (8) | Hypoth | 39.9 | Consult counsel | Distinguishing helpful from unhelpful information to provide to counsel; understanding mitigating factors (e.g., provocation and intoxication); making decisions about plea bargaining | |
| Appreciation (6) | Case | 22.7 | Rational understanding | Beliefs about outcome (likelihood of conviction and punishment); perception of lawyer (helpfulness and trust with all information); beliefs about the legal system (fairness and viability of plea bargaining) | |
| ECST-R | FAC: factual | Case | 7.2 | Rational understanding | Roles of courtroom personnel; understanding the criminal charges |
| CWC: counsel | Case | 7.7 | Consult counsel | Perceptions and expectations of counsel; identifying and resolving disagreements with counsel; impaired communication with counsel | |
| RAC: rational | Case | 8.1 | Decision-making about trial; appraisal of different outcomes; problematic courtroom experiences | ||
| CAST-MR | Legal concepts (25) | Case | 20.3 | Factual understanding | The duties of legal professionals in court; common legal terms; specific terms related to sentencing |
| Understand case (10) | Case | 7.4 | Factual understanding | Recall of the crime; recall of the arrest; description of criminal charges | |
| Assist defense (15) | Both | 46.9 | Consult counsel | Cooperation with the lawyer; doing what others (e.g. police, inmates, or prosecutors) ask; response to persons (prosecutor or witness) telling lies about the defendant) |
M length is the average number of words addressed to the defendant before he is asked to respond; some items include a statement followed by an inquiry. Case is the specific queries about the defendant's case; Hypoth is hypothetical queries unrelated to the defendant; and Both is a combination of case-specific and hypothetical queries.