Court News
May 19, 2006
Supreme Court, Ohio State Judicial Seminar Focuses on Latest Computer and Internet Technology
The Supreme Court of Ohio, in cooperation with the Ohio State University, this week hosted the third 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 the Ohio Judicial Center focused on computer and Internet technology and covered issues such as computer architecture, graphics and forensics, the future of computing, communication technology advancement and challenges, wireless technologies, how the Internet and cyberspace work, malicious software and hacking.
Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer serves on the ASTAR national board.
“With the constant advancements in information technology and its application in the courtroom, it is critical that judges have a more in-depth understanding of the issues,” Chief Justice Moyer said. “This training provides Ohio judges with the information necessary to more effectively preside over complex scientific cases that may come before their courts.”
Ohio State faculty members and computer technology professionals served as instructors for the one-and-a-half day program.
Participants 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.
The judges who took part in this week's training also attended the first two Ohio ASTAR seminars, which focused on agricultural and reproductive medicine issues, and previous training sessions held in North Carolina and Virginia. The next ASTAR training, which will cover bio-forensics, will be Sept. 21-22 at the Blackwell Hotel & Conference Center on the Ohio State University campus.
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.
