George Clinton Sweeney (July 23, 1895 – November 5, 1966) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (in case citations, D. Mass.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The first court session was hel ...

Education and career

Born in Gardner,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, Sweeney received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from

Georgetown Law The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

in 1922. He was in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as a Sergeant from 1917 to 1918. He was in private practice in Gardner from 1924 to 1935. He served as Mayor of Gardner from 1931 to 1933. He was an assistant attorney general of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

from 1933 to 1935. He was the first

Knight of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

to be made a judge in Massachusetts.

Federal judicial service

Sweeney was nominated by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

on August 20, 1935, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

James Arnold Lowell James Arnold Lowell (February 5, 1869 – November 30, 1933) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He was the son of John Lowell, a United States federal judge who served from 1 ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on August 21, 1935, and received his commission on August 24, 1935. He served as Chief Judge from 1948 to 1965 and as a member of the

Judicial Conference of the United States The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial cour ...

from 1958 to 1961. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on September 30, 1966. Sweeney served in that capacity until his death on November 5, 1966.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, George Clinton 1895 births 1966 deaths Georgetown University Law Center alumni Mayors of places in Massachusetts Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts United States district court judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt United States Assistant Attorneys General for the Civil Division 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers United States Army soldiers People from Gardner, Massachusetts Massachusetts lawyers