James Russell Sweeney II
Appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2018 and confirmed by voice vote, James Russell Sweeney II is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. He earned a law degree from Notre Dame Law School in 1996. Sources ↓
- Born
- 1961 · age 65
- Appointed by
- Donald J. Trump, 2018
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Chief judge
- Southern District of Indiana, 2025 to present
- Education
- U.S. Naval Academy 1983 · Notre Dame Law School 1996
- Succeeded
- Sarah Evans Barker
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Southern District of Indiana succeeded Sarah Evans Barker chief judge 2025 to present | Trump (R) | Voice vote |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.
Confirmation vote
Voice vote
The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.
Education
| U.S. Naval Academy | B.S. | 1983 |
| Notre Dame Law School | J.D. | 1996 |
Before the bench
Professional career before and outside the federal bench, as recorded by the Federal Judicial Center.
| U.S. Marine Corps captain | 1983-1992 |
| U.S. Marine Corps Reserve colonel | 1992-2013 |
| Law clerk, Hon. John Daniel Tinder, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana | 1996-1997 |
| Law clerk, Hon. James L. Ryan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | 1997-1998 |
| Private practice, Indianapolis, Indiana | 1999-2018 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Sweeney was assigned 4,302 district-court cases (1993–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 192 days across 3,143 closed cases.
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
On appeal
Of 83 of Sweeney’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 68 were affirmed, 11 reversed or vacated, and 4 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed James Russell Sweeney II?
- President Donald J. Trump appointed James Russell Sweeney II to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in 2018.
- Was James Russell Sweeney II appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- James Russell Sweeney II was appointed by President Donald J. Trump, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was James Russell Sweeney II's confirmation vote?
- James Russell Sweeney II was confirmed by voice vote on August 28, 2018. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is James Russell Sweeney II on?
- James Russell Sweeney II is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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8 years on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Data as of 2026-09-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).