| Jens Maier | |
| Office: | Member of the Bundestag |
| Term Start: | 24 October 2017 |
| Term End: | 26 October 2021 |
| Birth Date: | 10 February 1962 |
| Party: | AfD |
| Nationality: | German |
Jens Maier (born 10 February 1962 in Bremen)[1] is a German judge and politician for Alternative for Germany. The Saxon Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies him as a right-wing extremist. As of March 24, 2022, he is barred from the bench.[2]
Before becoming a judge at the Landesgericht in Dresden, Maier studied law at the University of Tübingen and held various positions in public administration.
He became a member of the Bundestag after the 2017 German federal election for Saxony.[3] He was a member of Der Flügel, the extremist wing of the Alternative for Germany.[4] This led to the Landesamt für Verfassungsschutz Sachsen classifying him as a far-right extremist.
Maier lost his seat in the 2021 German federal election. After leaving the Bundestag, Jens Maier applied in February 2022 to return as a judge in the civil service of the Saxon judiciary. Because of his radical right-wing activities, there was considerable public doubt that Maier, as a judge, would judge "without regard to the person".[5] The Saxon Minister of Justice Katja Meier (Alliance 90/The Greens) announced that there was a claim and that "Mr. Maier would be returned to the judicial service as a district judge at the Dippoldiswalde district court with effect from March 14, 2022". However, she also submitted an application for retirement under Section 31 Deutsches Richtergesetz (German judge law).[6] On March 24, 2022, the Landgericht Leipzig barred him from returning to the bench for the time being (until a decision is taken on the further application for retirement in the interests of justice) because "[i]t was obvious that Maier would conduct his office as an "AfD judge" and would thus no longer comply with the legal model of an independent and objective judge."[2]