Hon. Edmund F. Maxwell ’49
Hon. Edmund. F. Maxwell ’49 is a federal magistrate judge for the Western District of New York. Previously a private practitioner, he became one of the first magistrate judges in the nation when that position was created in 1971.
About this Interview
Interview Date(s)
August 27, 2001
Interviewed By
Frederick Wolf
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About the Hon. Edmund F. Maxwell
Of Irish descent, Judge Maxwell was born in Lackawanna and grew up in South Buffalo. He graduated from Canisius High School and attended Canisius College for three years before entering World War II as a pilot.
After the war, he utilized the GI Bill to finish college and go to law school. His father, a dentist, encouraged all four of his children—three boys and one girl—to go to college.
The judge said law school is a great education even if you don’t practice law. He applied to law school in 1946. About 150 students were in his class; 80 percent were veterans. Three women graduated in 1949, and one African-American, Jimmy Robinson. Dean Louis Jaffe followed Dean Philip Halpern. Classes were held in Townsend Hall. His favorite courses were Labor Law with Professor Lenhoff, Contracts with Bill Laidlaw and Constitutional Law with Professor Hyman. The moot court was presided over by Justice Desmond, who was on the Court of Appeals.
After serving in private practice with his brother and with Saperston, and a stint with the U.S. Attorney’s office, he became a part-time U.S. commissioner—a precursor to the magistrate, which was created with an expansion of duties in 1971. He has held the magistrate position for 31 years.
He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award for the Judiciary at the Annual Dinner in 1990.
Born May 31, 1923—Died Nov. 16, 2001