Welcome to the ASTAR home page, the official web site of the ASTA* resource judge movement to prepare scientifically and technologically grounded jurists for State and Federal courts.

Resource Judges preside in complex cases featuring novel scientific evidence and issues.  They are skilled in mediation and other procedures that may save litigants from the financial and emotional costs of lengthy trials.  They provide background and procedural information to their colleagues.  They provide leadership for Bench, Bar and law school education for the next generation of jurists.

Resource Judges promote the independence of the courts and public confidence in the courts.  They respond transparently with fair and balanced adjudication to the challenges posed by the explosion of science and technology in the Nation's courtrooms. 

ASTAR is a consortium of the Supreme Court of Ohio, the Court of Appeals of Maryland and the Supreme Court of Illinois, and the Supreme Court of Washington. 39 jurisdictions are ASTAR Members. 43 judges are ASTAR Fellows and 7 judges are honorary Fellows.

ASTAR continues EINSHAC's decade-long tradition of the Congressionally mandated program to prepare the courts for the impact of the human genome project. 4,000 judges were introduced to genetics, molecular biology, biotechnology and genetic engineering.  Mandated by Congress in 2006 to ramp up its proof of concept to a national scale, ASTAR added the entire scope of science, technology and forensics likely to be introduced as evidence or issues in the trial and appeals of complex cases.

In January 2007, ASTAR began operation of a Congressionally mandated project administered by the U. S. Department of Justice to ramp up science and technology training from consortium States to all U. S. Jurisdictions. This program will provide to all electing courts the certified Language of the Sciences programs ASTAR collectively terms "Platform A."