Katharine Sweeney Hayden (born May 30, 1942) is an American attorney and jurist serving as Senior United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to th ...

Early life and education

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, Hayden earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from

Marymount Manhattan College Marymount Manhattan College is a private college on the Upper East Side of New York City. As of 2020, enrollment consists of 1,571 undergraduates with women making up 80.1% and men 19.9% of student enrollment. The college was founded in 1936. Hi ...

in 1963, a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

from

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest dioces ...

in 1971, and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from

Seton Hall University School of Law Seton Hall University School of Law is the law school of Seton Hall University, and is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall Law is the only private law school in New Jersey, and, according to the ''U.S. News & World Report'' rankin ...

in 1975.

Career

She was a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for Judge

Robert L. Clifford Robert L. Clifford (December 17, 1924 – November 29, 2014) was an associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. He was born in 1924 in Passaic, New Jersey, and attended Montclair Academy, graduating in the class of 1942. He received a Bac ...

of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1975-76. After her clerkship she became an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal go ...

at the United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey from 1976-78. She was in private matrimonial law practice in New Jersey from 1978–91, and then became a judge for the New Jersey Superior Court (Family Division) from 1991-97.

Federal judicial service

Hayden was nominated by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...

on May 6, 1997, to a seat on the

vacated by H. Lee Sarokin. She 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 ...

on September 25, 1997, and received her commission four days later. Hayden assumed senior status on May 30, 2010. Hayden continues her connection to her alma mater,

, serving as an adjunct professor teaching course on Persuasion & Advocacy and Sentencing, and frequently employing Seton Hall Law students as judicial clerks and interns.

Personal life

Hayden is married to Joseph A. Hayden, Jr., a criminal defense attorney and partner at the New Jersey law firm of Walder Hayden & Brogan. She has two sons, including

Matt Sweeney Matt Sweeney (born July 2, 1969) is an American musician and record producer best known as a guitarist of Skunk, Chavez, and supergroup Zwan. Early life and education Sweeney was born in New Jersey. His father was John D. Sweeney, a professo ...

, a musician and founding member of the band Chavez.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayden, Katharine Sweeney 1942 births Living people Assistant United States Attorneys Judges of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey Marymount Manhattan College alumni Lawyers from New York City Seton Hall University School of Law alumni Superior court judges in the United States United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges 20th-century American women judges 21st-century American women judges