Maryland Judiciary and The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
to Host Workshop to Prepare Judges for Science and Technology Issues

Johns Hopkins experts will teach sessions in molecular biology,
genetics, stem cell research, neuro-imaging

(ANNAPOLIS, MD — January 9, 2005) Continuing its work toward preparing judges for cases involving advanced science and medical issues, the Maryland Judiciary and The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine are hosting a workshop for judges from January 19-21 at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Molecular biology/genetics, stem cell research, and neuro-imaging are the three main subjects that will be discussed during the three-day Advanced Science and Technology Adjudication Resource Center (ASTAR) workshop. The workshop is the second formal session to train the 21 circuit court judges and 2 appellate judges recruited to become “science and technology resource judges” for Maryland. These judges, who attended their first workshop in October 2005, are receiving training in advanced bioscience, biomedical, and biotechnology issues and related adjudication/mediation skills.

By 2010, ASTAR hopes to certify at least 700 resource judges across the United States and in jurisdictions internationally. Maryland will serve as a resource for judge preparation for other jurisdictions nationally and internationally.

“This training gives judges a better grounding in bioscience and biotechnology for cases that may appear in future litigation or alternative dispute resolution cases,” said Court of Appeals Judge Glenn T. Harrell, Jr., who serves as an ASTAR Leadership Director. “This will give judges more confidence in trying these types of cases and allow them to step in to ask the right question if that question has not been asked.”

Resource judges will assist their jurisdictions with bench/bar and educational leadership activities and, within ethical constraints, serve as resources to their colleagues when adjudication issues are raised by novel and complex scientific evidence.

The education the judges receive is designed not to teach what outcomes may be appropriate, but instead to supply a greater background to make them better adjudicators.

The ASTAR program grew out of a decade-long effort by the Einstein Institute for Science, Health, and the Courts (EINSHAC) to raise judicial consciousness about the impact on the dispute-resolution process of the human genome project through judicial/science education conferences.

Maryland Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert M. Bell was integrally involved in the EINSHAC conferences, which included a program titled “Genetics in the Courtroom,” held in Ocean City in 1998 for the Maryland and Delaware state judiciaries. Now Chair of the ASTAR Board of Directors, Judge Bell decided that the Maryland Judiciary’s involvement in ASTAR would build on the existing network created for the Business & Technology (B&T) Case Management Program.

The first resource judge “class” will graduate in December 2006.

Members of the media are invited to attend the plenary sessions, but attendance must be coordinated in advance through the Court Information Office. Broadcast media must set up video and audio equipment before the sessions begin for the day. To prevent disruptions during the training, pre-arranged interviews may only be conducted between sessions or during the lunch break. The breakout discussion sessions following the lectures are not open to the media, although the written bases of discussion topics are available. For more information, please call the Court Information Office at (410) 260-1488.

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