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94 Judicature 205 (2010-2011)
AJS Membership Has Its Privileges (and Its Responsibilities and Opportunities)

handle is hein.journals/judica94 and id is 203 raw text is: I Presient'
Rep0ort
AJS membership has its privileges (and its
responsibilities and opportunities)

William D. Johnston

I've been a member of the American
Judicature Society for close to 30
years - since 1983. I was fortunate
to receive a complimentary mem
bership from the judge for whom I
was clerking at the time, and I have
maintained the membership ever
sice.
This President's Report has me
pausing to reflect on the benefits
-   and the responsibilities and
opportunities - associated with AJS
membership. The topic is a vitally
iniprtant one, sinc AJS is a broadly-
based membership organization of
citizens (judges, lawyers, and non-
lawy ers) concerned with improving
our nation's justice system.
Perhaps the most significant benefit
of AJS membership is that each of us,
as a member, is part of an organiza-
tion that focuses on improving the
administration of justice for all. As
a corollarv, each of us is presented
with a responsibily and an opportunity.
As observed by AS Board member
The Honorable Delissa Rdgwsay
of the U.S. Court of International
Trade: AJS is not liberal, and it s not
conservQatie it's not pro-defense or
pro-prosecution or pro-plaintiff! It is
committed to fundamental fairness,
and to enhancing the administration
ofj stice.'
AJS Past President Rober
Kauhan (a partner with Proskauer
ose LLP in New York City) echoes
Judge Rd way's scntimert: To m
the single most important benefit

of membership is being a partici-
pant in the work of improving the
administration of justice nationally.
All the other things - publications
and periodicals, etc. - are nice, but
the participation in actual improve-
ments is great. nd former AJS
Board Member and cuirrent Member
of the AJS National Advisoiy Council
Momi (azimero, a graphic designer
(non-lawyer) in Honolulu, Hawaii,
comments: The word I have used to
describe AJS' mission is 'vigilance.'
Especially at a time when we feel
besieged -  now -   it is easiest to
bypass and ignore doing the 'right
thing'  or   remaining  'vigilant'
because we feel overwhelmed. That
is when wse are the most vulnerable.
The other benefits of AJS mem-
bership are many. The most obvious
include receipt of this bi-monthly,
peer-reviewed journal, Judicature,
published continuously since 1917
All judicial members of AJS also
receive the quarterly Judicial (ondu
3porter a one-ofIa-kind resource for
the latest on judicial ethics and dis-
cipline. And rnany of our members
receive the Socicty's electonic news-
letter, Judicatories. (If youi are not cur-
rently receiving Judicatories, please
send a message to membership@ajs.
org to begin receiving the newsletter
and other e ectronic comiunica-
tions.) Side benefits ofAXJS member-
ship include the Society' affinity
car issuedlby Bankof Amrricaan
discounts oi car rentals through

Alamo and National Rent-A-Car.
AJS' website (www.ajs.org) is
chock-full of resources in connec-
tion with judicial selection, judicial
ethics, the jury system, eyewitness
identification research and other
criminal justice initiatives and pro
se litigation assistance. The website
also includes a wealth of educatioial
offerings, such as Continuing Legal
Education programs through W~est
LegalEdcenter and model justice
system  curricula for high school
students.
Happily, the benefits ofAJS mem-
bership were confirmed by an inde-
pendent survey conducted for the
Society in January of this year. The
suv ey was directed to more than
450 AJS members and non-members
in an effort to learn more about how
AJS can best serve its members and
otherwise fulfill its mission to secure
and promote an independent and
qualified juidiciary and a fair system
of juistice. Respondents ov erwshelm-
ingly viewed AJS as a solidly non-
partisan, independent organization,
continued on page 206
www~as~orgUDICATU RE20

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