James R. Sweeney

James Russell Sweeney II (born 1961) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. He received a Bachelor of Science with merit from the United States Naval Academy in 1983. From 1983 to 1992, Sweeney served as an active duty Naval Flight Officer in the United States Marine Corps. He went on to earn a Juris Doctor magna cum laude from Notre Dame Law School in 1996. Following his law school education, Sweeney clerked for Judge John Daniel Tinder of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana and Judge James L. Ryan of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He then joined the Indianapolis law firm Barnes & Thornburg as an associate in 1999 and eventually became a partner in 2005. Sweeney practiced corporate and civil law until his appointment as a judge in 2018.