Jacob Sweeney

Jacob Sweeney is a Friedman Fellow and Visiting Associate Professor of Law in the Criminal Defense and Justice Clinic. The clinic’s focus is to provide holistic, compassionate, and zealous representation to indigent clients charged with misdemeanors in DC Superior Court. In his role, Professor Sweeney supervises law students at all stages of client representation, and he co-teaches a weekly seminar on topics relevant to criminal defense practice.

Before joining GW Law, Professor Sweeney worked as an Assistant Public Defender at the Maryland Office of the Public Defender in Prince George’s County, where he represented indigent clients charged with criminal offenses in Maryland District and Circuit Court. In that role, Professor Sweeney represented approximately 30-50 clients each week at all stages of their cases, including pretrial hearings, trials, and sentencings. Prior to working as a public defender, Professor Sweeney served as a law clerk for the Honorable Maribeth Raffinan in DC Superior Court, where he conducted extensive legal research and writing in the most serious criminal cases on the court’s Felony 1 Calendar.

Professor Sweeney holds a BA from Haverford College and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.