Katharine M. Sweeney Hayden (née Jackson; 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 United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. gover ...

Early life and education

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Hayden earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Marymount Manhattan College Marymount Manhattan College is a private college on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. As of 2020, enrollment consisted of 1,571 undergraduate students with women making up 80.1% and men 19.9% of student enrollment. Columbia University Masters ...

in 1963, a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) 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. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

in 1971, and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

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. The school confers three law degrees: Juris Doctor, Ma ...

in 1975.

Career

She was a

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

for Judge Robert L. Clifford 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 gov ...

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 (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

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 a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate 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 profess ...

, 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