ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Since the late 1990s, Judge Jason Maxwell has been a fixture in the Liberal community and the Liberal Municipal Court system.

Soon, however, Maxwell will be leaving Liberal to take a position in Salina. As Maxwell tells it, his journey in Liberal has been an interesting one.

“When I was in college, I did a pre-law internship when I was at Oklahoma State University with the district attorney's Office in Guymon, Okla.,” Maxwell said. “And while I was there, I met an attorney named Robert Miles, and after law school, he made an offer to me, and I came out here to work. I had met Robert while I was working for the DAs office, and he made an offer to me, and I came back out here and went to work. The move to Liberal was different than what it will be from Liberal – I was broke coming out of law school and was coming in with a beat up trailer that had plywood sides that were falling in and had to be strapped down to keep from falling apart. I was a single person when I made my way to Liberal and now I'm married, and I have two adult children, and I'll be moving away from a place that's been really good to us.”

One of the local programs Maxwell said he is particularly proud to have had a hand in starting is the Treatment Court program, which has seen many graduates since its inception.

“Treatment Court is probably the main program people in town hear about, and it’s been wonderful,” Maxwell said. “We've really enjoyed working with the people who are here. I enjoy working with people who need to need a hand up, and the people who have been on the team have just been amazing. Going back a ways, my wife and I spent about seven years as leading the youth group at our church, and we loved working with the kids and the people from the church that supported us, and we took on many leadership roles there. I also spent some time on the Mid-America Air Museum Board, and I was on the SKADAF board for about 15 years back when that program was around. I also spent 10 years working with Southwest Guidance Center. I had a lot of time working in various capacities and in various entities of the community, and I felt like we gave a lot to the community, and the community gave back to us.”

Maxwell reiterated his joy in working with his staff throughout the years.

“We always had fun with our warrant officers, they were always joking, and it was a good time working with them,” Maxwell said with a chuckle. “We didn't have any anything that happened too crazy in the courtroom. For the most part, things stayed fairly stable, although there were multiple times we joked after court how you don't need television if you have Municipal Court, because some of the things that are said are pretty crazy, but generally pretty enjoyable. It was a lot of fun working with so many different people throughout the years, that’s for sure.”

Maxwell added the time has seemed to go by quickly while in Liberal.

“We raised our children here, and they were born here, Dr Knudsen was the one who delivered both our kids. I grew up in Guymon, so this was not a big move for me, but for my wife, this was a big change,” Maxwell said. “She grew up in the Oklahoma City area, and then went to high school in the Nashville area, then she went to college, and I know she’s also lived in Germany, and then Chicago, New York City, LA. And she moved here from Scottsdale, Ariz. in 1997, so this was a big move for her. She's adapted well, but I think we're ready to explore a different area.”

Maxwell said his new position in Salina will be very similar to his current position, and added there were multiple factors that went into his decision to move.

“I'll be replacing someone I've worked with and who I'm pretty close to – Brenda Stoss has been the judge there for the last 22 years, and during and so I'll be taking her spot, and it's really big, but I'll be happy to take it on,” Maxwell said. “When my wife moved here from Scottsdale, we had kind of agreed that we would stay for two to three years, until I kind of got my feet underneath me as a lawyer, then we'd move to city, and I would practice there. That was in 1997 so I'm slightly past the two to three years, and once we started having children, we had that discussion of ‘Are we going to move or are we not?’ And we decided Liberal was a good place to raise our children but then after our children were grown, we would start looking and that's basically what we did. After our daughter, who's our youngest, graduated from high school, we started looking for employment at places. It took a little longer to find the right spot, but it turned the right spot, and it checks a lot of the boxes for us.”

While he is excited about the new opportunity, Maxwell admitted there will be some bittersweetness to leaving the community he has called home for multiple decades.

“Liberal been a wonderful community for supporting the things we do, like the Treatment Court – all the taxing entities have been amazing, and there are also a number of businesses that have been willing to jump in and show their support too,” Maxwell said. “And that's something that's special about Liberal, that when we've had programs like this that have been established to help people. That's a really special thing about Southwest Kansas, I feel like we do a great job taking care of our own. I've also enjoyed the group I’m part of that runs on Saturday mornings, and I’ve enjoyed all the people I've gotten to meet through those programs and groups as well.”

Overall, Maxwell said, he is grateful for his years in Liberal.

“My wife and I are very thankful for all the support that we've had from the community and our neighbors and everyone around us has been a wonderful place to raise our kids and spend the last nearly 30 years,” Maxwell said.