Competence Assessment for Standing Trial for Defendants With Mental Retardation (CAST-MR)

Three experiments were conducted on the instrument developed, Competence Assessment for Standing Trial for Defendants With Mental Retardation (CAST-MR). Experiment 1 consisted of three pilot testing with mentally retarded group home residents, Experiment 2 an expert appraisal process and readability analysis, and Experiment 3 a field testing with four groups of criminal defendants in five sites. Three forms of reliability -- internal consistency, test-retest, and interrater -- and three forms of validity -- content, construct, and criterion -- were investigated. The results of the reliability and validity analyses indicate that the CAST-MR may be a valid and reliable instrument for assessment of competence to stand trial in criminal defendants with mental retardation. 5 tables, 33 references. (Publisher abstract)