After 21 years as Cass County attorney, Earl Maus began a new chapter in his career March 13, when he was sworn in as the newest Ninth Judicial District Court judge in Crow Wing County.
Aside from which side of the bench he faces in the courtroom, perhaps the biggest change will be the 60-mile commute to the courthouse in Brainerd after years of walking the short distance to his office at the Cass County Courthouse.
"It will be different leaving this office," Maus said. After settling in at one office for so long, the walls look especially bare as he clears out his personal belongings to prepare for the physical move.
Maus and his wife, Jean, live in Walker and raised their daughters, Laura and Julia, there. The couple has not yet decided if they will relocate closer to his new office.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty appointed Maus to the judgeship in October to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Frederick J. Casey on March 12.
Maus was a corrections counselor in St. Cloud when he decided to go to law school. He was born and raised in St. Cloud, and the Department of Corrections job was his first after completing his undergraduate degree at St. Cloud State.
Maus earned his law degree from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul in 1982. He worked as a law clerk in Ramsey County his senior year, and as assistant county attorney in Beltrami County in 1983 and Cass County from 1984 to 1986. He began his tenure as Cass County attorney in 1986.
"Things have changed in the world since I started," Maus said. "There were no fax machines. Copies were made on slippery paper. Typing was done on onion skin paper, and the big improvement was (a typewriter) with a three-line memory."
Computer technology wasn't in the picture, of course, and accessing records meant digging out files, he said.
There are many more laws in place now than when Maus first started with Cass County. They are more complex, he said. He said there is new case law every year and interpretation of the constitution and the laws themselves change.
The staff at the Cass County attorney's office has also changed over the years - more than doubling in numbers.
There were just two staff attorneys and two secretaries in the office when Maus started work there. Now there is a staff of 10, including five attorneys, three secretaries, a victim services coordinator and the equivalent of about 1.5 paralegals through a job share arrangement.
The office has grown in other ways, too, Maus said. The population of the county went from 21,300 in 1986 to an estimated 29,036 in 2006, a 36 percent increase. The sheriff's department and volume of cases processed have also grown.
The peaks of activity created by all of that growth and the stress of juggling all the balls at once were some issues Maus faced as county attorney. The difficult decisions required in the position and trying high profile cases also presented challenges.
He felt the most difficult to prosecute were the personal injury, homicide and especially criminal sexual conduct cases.
"They are hard for the victims and their families, as well as for the defendant," Maus said. "(Those cases) are very emotional and result in the most hung juries."
As a trial judge, Maus is looking forward to new challenges and a chance to serve the public in a different capacity. He will be one of five Ninth District judges based in Crow Wing County who share time throughout the district, also assisting in Cass, Aitkin and other counties.
"It's an honor and a great responsibility," he said, "to apply the law impartially and uphold the constitution."
The wide variety of cases, however, is one of the things Maus said he enjoyed most about the county attorney's office.
"I was never bored or had to look for anything to do," he said. "It made the time, the years fly by."
As county attorney, he also enjoyed the people - those he worked with and the general public.
"Often when people come through the criminal justice system it's a stressful time for them," he said. "I've seen a lot of pain and a lot of the joy."
Elected to the county attorney position six times, Maus said, "I'd be remiss if I didn't thank all the people of Cass County for allowing me to serve. I appreciate all of their support over the years."
Maus had a lot of great county staff to work with over the years. "Good solid people and good department heads," he said. "I will miss them most, and I hope the county continues to have a bright future."
PULLOUT
"Often when people come through the criminal justice system it's a stressful time for them. I've seen a lot of pain and a lot of the joy." - former Cass County Attorney Earl Maus
CUTLINES
PHOTOS BY DIANE MCCORMACK
MAUS AND BELTRAMI CO ATTY - Judge Earl Maus, from left, and Beltrami County Attorney Timothy Faver share memories at a going-away party in Maus' honor Feb. 29 at Northern Lights Event Center in Walker.
MAUS - After 21 years as Cass County attorney, Earl Maus will be sworn in March 13 as the newest district court judge in Crow Wing County.
FILENAME \p New Server:Lake Country Echo:Issues:2008:March:March 13, 2008:Writers:new judge earl maus.doc DATE \@ "M/d/yy" 3/11/08
PAGE
Page PAGE 4
