James G. Sweeney (January 24, 1877 – July 6, 1917)Judge Sweeney Buried Today
, ''Elko Independent'' (July 9, 1917), p. 1. was a Nevada attorney and politician who served as the

Nevada Attorney General The Nevada Attorney General is the chief legal officer for the U.S. state of Nevada. The functions of the office are set forth in Nevada Revised Statutes, Chapter 228. The Attorney General represents the people of Nevada in civil and criminal mat ...

from 1902 to 1907, and a justice and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Nevada from 1907 to 1913.

Early life, education, and career

Born in

Carson City, Nevada Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the ...

to Mr. and Mrs. E. D. Sweeney, Nevada pioneers, Sweeney attended the local schools and worked in the mines in Carson City, where he became popular with the miners, a popularity that would serve him well in his later political life. He received a B.A. from

Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic Church, Catholic college in Moraga, California. Established in 1863, it is affiliated with the Catholic Church and administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college of ...

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, thereafter reading law to gain

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to the Nevada State Bar on July 30, 1898, at the age of 21. Already admitted to the practice of law, he then attended the Columbia University School of Law in

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, from which he "graduated with high honors".

Political and judicial career

Sweeney entered politics, winning the November 1900 election to represent Ormsby County, Nevada, in the Nevada Assembly, in the 20th Nevada State Legislative Session beginning in 1901. On November 4, 1902, at the age of 26, Sweeney was elected as the thirteenth Nevada Attorney General, making him the youngest state attorney general in the history of the United States to that date. Sweeney was elected as a

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

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, receiving 6,268 (56.6%) votes against Republican Samuel Platt, who received 4,797 (43.4%) votes. In 1905, the Nevada State Legislature enacted the first legislation allowing the Nevada Attorney General to hire a full-time staff employee; Sweeney then brought on his younger sister Margaret Sweeney to serve as his stenographer. Four years later, on November 6, 1906, he won the election to become the youngest state supreme court justice in the country with his election to the Nevada Supreme Court. An obituary noted: As a leading democrat of the state, Sweeney was prominently identified in the various democratic conventions, presiding over many of the state meetings. He was chairman of the combined parties in the coalition of democratic and silver parties, and for several years was chairman of the Nevada state central committee. Sweeney was defeated in a race for the

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in 1910 by incumbent

George S. Nixon George Stuart Nixon (April 2, 1860 – June 5, 1912) was an American who served as a member of the United States Senate from Nevada. Early life He was born in Newcastle, California. He went to work for a railroad company and studied telegraphy ...

, and thereafter served as chief justice of the Nevada Supreme Court until illness forced him to retire in 1913. Sweeney then established a private law practice in Reno and Carson City with state senator H. V. Morehouse.

Personal life and death

On December 14, 1902, Sweeney married Mable Trembath of Virginia City, Nevada, with whom he had several children. They divorced on December 30, 1914. Sweeney married Nan Patterson in 1916, but obtained a divorce the following year on the grounds of desertion."Jurist Gets Divorce", ''The Sacramento Bee'' (April 13, 1917), p. 7. Sweeney died from pernicious

anemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, th ...

at his sister's home in

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, after an illness of six months, at the age of 40. His body was transported back to Carson City for burial.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, James G. 1877 births 1917 deaths Saint Mary's College of California alumni U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Columbia Law School alumni Democratic Party members of the Nevada Assembly Justices of the Nevada Supreme Court Nevada Silverites Deaths from anemia