There have been rumors about the financial struggle the American Judicature Society has faced during the past few years. One of the Society’s great benefactors passed away. And, the news this week is sad. The American Judicature Society, which is over 100 years old, has announced its dissolution.

AJS was initially the nation’s voice in the effort to reform the appointment and retention of judges. It was the go-to place for informed analysis of judicial ethics, led for many years by Cindy Gray. AJS played a very major role in moving forward a broad view of access to justice.

AJS published the first national materials on self-represented litigants, organized the critical 1999 Scottsdale Arizona Conference on the self-represented, and put together a number of regional conferences.  Kate Sampson, their now retired self-represented litigant leader, was a champion of this issue long before almost anyone else.  The AJS magazine, Judicature, has – a along with Court Review – been among the elite court publications.

Fortunately, the Center on Judicial Ethics, run by Cindy Gray, will now be part of the National Center for State Courts.