Court News

Jan. 27, 2006
Supreme Court, Ohio State Host Judicial Scientific Training Seminar

The Supreme Court of Ohio, in cooperation with the Ohio State University, this week hosted the first Ohio session of a national program designed to prepare judges to preside over complex scientific issues likely to come before their courts.

A select group of 20 Ohio judges participated in this week's session of the Advanced Science and Technology Adjudication Resource (ASTAR) program. Ohio is helping to spearhead ASTAR, which offers standardized training to judges around the country to handle the increasing volume of complex, high-tech cases on court dockets. This week's session at Ohio State focused on agricultural issues, such as air, ground and water quality associated with farming operations, genetic modification and animal and human health.

Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer serves on the ASTAR national board.

“Ohio judges are at the forefront of an effort to learn about the merging issues of science and the law,” Chief Justice Moyer said. “This training better prepares the courts of Ohio for resolving the questions of tomorrow.”

Ohio State faculty members and a representative from the Ohio Department of Agriculture served as instructors for the one-and-a-half day program.

The judges who were chosen to participate in the training are expected to give back to the program by serving as faculty for future sessions and acting as resources for other judges who have complex science cases brought before them.

ASTAR is a consortium of two states, Ohio and Maryland, that share the common goal of educating judges in science and technology issues. The initial national ASTAR seminar, a life sciences boot camp, was held in Virginia in October 2005.

Contact: Katie Riedel at 614.387.9250.