Margaret Mary Sweeney (born 1955) is a

Senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

of the United States Court of Federal Claims, appointed to that court in 2005 by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. She served as chief judge from July 12, 2018 to October 19, 2020.

Early life, education, and career

Born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

,Joint Committee on Printing,
Official Congressional Directory, 2011-2012: 112th Congress
', p. 876. Sweeney received 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 years ...

in history from Notre Dame of Maryland in 1977, and

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 law ...

from

Delaware Law School Widener University Delaware Law School (Delaware Law School and formerly Widener University School of Law) is a private law school in Wilmington, Delaware. It is one of two separate ABA-accredited law schools of Widener University. Widener Univ ...

in 1981.United States Court of Federal Claims page on Margaret M. Sweeney
Sweeney served as a Delaware Family Court Master presiding over cases involving domestic relations matters from 1981 to 1983. She then became a litigation associate from with the firm of Fedorko, Gilbert, & Lanctot, in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, until 1985, handling civil and criminal cases, including commercial litigation, personal injury, domestic relations, real property and estates. From 1985 to 1987, she served as law clerk to Loren A. Smith, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims. From 1987 to 2003, Sweeney served in 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 ...

, first as a trial attorney in the General Litigation Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division until 1999, and then as an Attorney Advisor for the Office of Intelligence Policy and Review. In the latter position, she prepared applications and motions on behalf of various United States intelligence agencies for presentation to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Sweeney then served as a Special Master for the United States Court of Federal Claims from 2003 to 2005.

Federal judicial service

On October 24, 2005, Sweeney was appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims by President George W. Bush. 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 pow ...

and entered duty on December 14, 2005. On July 12, 2018 President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

designated her as Chief Judge. and she served in that capacity until October 19, 2020. She 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 October 23, 2020.

Memberships

Sweeney is a member of the bars of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. In 1999, she served as President of the United States Court of Federal Claims Bar Association. Sweeney and her family reside in the Washington metropolitan area.

References

External links

*
United States Court of Federal Claims page on Margaret M. Sweeney
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Margaret Mary 1955 births Living people Notre Dame of Maryland University alumni Judges of the United States Court of Federal Claims Lawyers from Baltimore United States Article I federal judges appointed by George W. Bush Widener University alumni 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges