Governor Haley Barbour today announced the appointment of Assistant United States Attorney James D. Maxwell II of Oxford to the Mississippi Court of Appeals effective March 1, 2009.
Maxwell will serve through January 2, 2011.
Maxwell, a federal prosecutor, will serve in the position formerly held by David A. Chandler of Ackerman, who was recently elected to the Mississippi Supreme Court.
“Jimmy’s experience as a federal prosecutor and his work in private practice will be invaluable to his role on the Court of Appeals,”
Governor Barbour said. “I appreciate his commitment to serving the people of Mississippi.”
Since 2002, Maxwell has served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, where he prosecuted complex criminal cases ranging from public corruption and white-collar fraud to money laundering, drug trafficking and gang-related offenses on behalf of the United States Department of Justice. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Maxwell practiced civil law in Jackson with the law firm of Daniel Coker Horton & Bell, P.A.
Professionally, Maxwell is president of the Lafayette County Bar Association and has formerly served as president of Tri-County Young Lawyers (Lafayette, Yalobusha and Calhoun Counties). He also is the president-elect of the Young Lawyers division of the Mississippi Bar and is a member of the Board of Bar Commissioners. In addition, Maxwell has served on the Diversity in the Law Committee and on the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Prosecutors Association.
Maxwell earned his bachelor’s degree in general business and his law degree from the University of Mississippi. He and his wife Mindy have two children, Trip and Mae Covington, and are members of First Baptist Church of Oxford.
Governor Barbour’s Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee, which reviews the qualifications of judicial appointees in accordance with Executive Order 914, found Maxwell fully qualified to serve in this post.
Governor Barbour Press Release
2/3/9
Magnolia Tribune
