Judge J. Machelle Sweeting

Judge J. Machelle Sweeting serves as Acting Justice of the New York State Supreme Court. Sweeting was elected to the bench from the 10th Municipal Court District in Harlem, New York. She is the only Bahamian-American legal practitioner admitted to practice law in state and federal courts in New York, Washington, DC, the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd and 4th Circuits, the United States Supreme Court, and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. Upon her election, Sweeting became the first African American woman jurist to preside in the New York County Family Court in many years and the first woman jurist in Davidson College's history.

Sweeting's judicial career includes serving as the only African American female judge in the New York County Family Court for five years, where she presided over complex family law cases involving custody, visitation, child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, juvenile delinquency, and cases filed by undocumented persons under 21 seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. She presided over the nation's first state-wide remote access court, allowing litigants to appear via Skype. Sweeting also served as Presiding Judge at the Harlem Community Justice Center, overseeing cases involving housing, civil, and family law matters. She currently presides over a high-volume City-Part handling civil liability cases against the municipality, its agencies, and employees, as well as criminal court arraignments and hospital hearings related to medical release or continued treatment over objection.

Before her judicial appointment, Sweeting held roles including Assistant Corporation Counsel and founding attorney of the Special Litigation Division, Special Referee in the Supreme Court Matrimonial Division, Administrative Law Judge, Assistant District Attorney, Law Clerk to a Supreme Court and Appellate Justice, and Adjunct Law Professor. She majored in U.S. history at Davidson College and earned her law degree from Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey, and the Eugene Dupuch Law School in the Bahamas. Sweeting has also studied law at the University of London, University of Exeter, University of Zimbabwe, and University of Botswana.

Sweeting overcame significant personal challenges, including early medical predictions that she would not walk. By age nine, she competed in the Colgate Women's Games and set national records in the 400 and 800 meter runs. Her experiences reflect a commitment to education, athletics, and perseverance. Sweeting has led U.S. delegations of women judges and lawyers to Ghana and participated in delegations to Jamaica and Haiti, presenting on immigration law topics such as the Deferred Action Plan and the Dream Act and their impact on Caribbean nationals.

Outside the courtroom, Sweeting is active in legal education, mentorship, and civic leadership. She has held leadership positions in organizations including the National Bar Association, Family Court Judges Associations of New York City and State, Association of Black Women Attorneys, Metropolitan Black Bar Association, and the NAACP Mid-Manhattan Branch. Sweeting regularly mentors students and established the first legal training program for high school students at Rutgers Law School. She is a National Registered Parliamentarian, certified chaplain, and was named Chaplain of the Year by New York Christian Bible College.