Judge Jimmy Maxwell of Oxford serves on the Mississippi Court of Appeals, District 1, Position 1. He was appointed by Governor Haley Barbour on February 2, 2009.

From 2002 to 2009, Judge Maxwell served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi. As a federal prosecutor, he successfully represented the United States Department of Justice in numerous prosecutions and jury trials for offenses ranging from public corruption and white collar fraud, to money laundering, drug trafficking, counterfeiting, and smuggling as well as immigration and gang-related crimes. He also handled appellate matters before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

During his time with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Judge Maxwell served as Corporate and Financial Fraud Coordinator and also participated on the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).

In 2007, he received the OCDETF Case of the Year Award for his prosecution of "Operation Icebreaker," a cooperative DEA, FBI, and state and local law enforcement undercover operation resulting in the federal prosecution and conviction of 31 members of a multi-state methamphetamine trafficking organization. He has also been recognized by the ATF for his prosecution and conviction of the leader of a violent street gang and for his help in reducing gun crime in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office, he practiced civil law in Jackson, Mississippi.

Judge Maxwell has been elected to various positions within the legal community. He has served as president of the Young Lawyers Division of the Mississippi Bar, and is a past president of both the Lafayette County Bar Association and Tri-County Young Lawyers (Calhoun, Lafayette and Yalobusha Counties). In addition, he has served on the Board of Bar Commissioners, the Mississippi Bar Foundation, the Diversity in the Law Committee, and the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Prosecutors Association

In 2007, he was selected by the Mississippi Economic Council to participate in the Leadership Mississippi program and was named "Top 40 Under 40" by the Mississippi Business Journal.

He earned his law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law and also received his undergraduate degree in business from Ole Miss.

Judge Maxwell and his wife Mindy have two children, Trip and Mae Covington. He and his family live in Oxford, Mississippi, where they are active members of First Baptist Church.