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The United States District Court in Southern Indiana has named James Sweeney II as its new chief judge, the court announced Friday in a news release.
Sweeney, an Indianapolis native, succeeds Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, who had served in the position since March 2021.
Doria Lynch, the court’s public information officer, said Pratt will remain as a judge on the district bench. Lynch said Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson served as the district’s chief judge for a similar amount of time before Pratt replaced her in that position.
Sweeney was sworn into the Southern Indiana district court in Sept. 2018, filing a vacancy created by Judge Sarah Evans Barker’s assumption of senior status in 2014.
Before his appointment, Sweeney was a partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP in Indianapolis, where he focused on intellectual property and represented clients in criminal, military law, international traffic in arms and trade regulation, national security, cybersecurity, privacy, and other matters.
Prior to that, Sweeney served as a judicial law clerk for Judge John Tinder during Tinder’s service in the Southern Indiana district court.
He also clerked for Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge James Ryan.
A decorated combat veteran, Sweeney is a retired Marine Corps colonel who earned his B.S. with merit from the United States Naval Academy. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame Law School.
Currently, Sweeney serves on the Indiana Bar Foundation Board, where he is actively involved in judging We the People and Mock Trial competitions on the state and national level.
He is also the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Brebeuf Jesuit Prepatory School, a Master on the Plager IP Inn of Court, and the National International Programs Officer for the Reserve Organization of America.
In 2024, Sweeney received the Indianapolis Bar Foundation’s Silver Gavel Award. He’s also been named to the lists of Indiana Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America for several years in a row. In 2001, he was awarded an Indianapolis Business Journal Forty Under 40 Award.
With the welcoming of a new chief judge, the district court also celebrated the service of Pratt, who served in the position for nearly four-and-a-half years.
According to the court, Pratt oversaw the court as it transitioned back to regular operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During her time as chief judge, the court opened the Federal Court Learning Center at the Birch Bayh Courthouse in Indianapolis and expanded its civic education and outreach programming, the court stated.
In Pratt’s tenure as chief judge, the Indiana Southern District carried a weighted caseload per judgeship 27% higher than the national average. Additionally, between March 21, 2021, and July 7, 2025, the district closed nearly 18,000 civil and criminal cases.
Pratt was also the first person of color to serve as the Indiana Southern Southern District’s chief judge.
She became the first African American federal judge in Indiana history upon being appointed as a district judge in 2010.
The position of chief judge is assigned based on the length of service and is given to the judge in regular service who is senior in commission of judges who are
- 64 years old or under
- Have served for one or more years as judge
- Have not previously served as chief judge
Chief judges serve for up to seven years in the position and handle administrative matters related to the functioning of the courthouse and clerk’s office. In addition to administrative tasks, chief judges carry a full caseload and do not receive additional pay, according to the court.
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