Judge Lets N.R.A. Keep Its Independence but Pushes for Reforms

A New York judge decided against imposing an outside monitor on the National Rifle Association on Monday, a win for the embattled gun group and the beginning of the end of a four-year-old case brought by state regulators.

But Justice Joel M. Cohen of Manhattan Supreme Court said he wanted further assurances that the N.R.A. would reform its governance practices. He directed the organization and the office of Attorney General Letitia James of New York, which brought the case, to negotiate the details of a series of reform measures that he largely laid out.

The measures are aimed at breaking up the cronyism that has kept a small group of allies of Wayne LaPierre, the former chief executive, largely in control.

The judge told the two sides to discuss how to make it easier for candidates to get onto the group’s 76-member governing board and to explore shrinking the board to a more manageable size. He also wants to purge the association’s audit committee of longstanding members and make official a number of other administrative changes that the N.R.A. had previously suggested but not implemented.

Justice Cohen barred Mr. LaPierre from serving as an officer or director of the N.R.A. for the next decade, saying he was seeking a “clear break from past practices.” A 10-year gap would give the organization time to “chart a course well distanced from the one created by this litigation,” the judge said.

He did not impose restrictions on another defendant, John Frazer, who was recently removed as general counsel but still serves as corporate secretary, stating that Mr. Frazer was by and large performing his duties in good faith.