NEW YORK, NY - On November 4, 2014, Harlem’s Own J. Machelle Sweeting was elected Civil Court Judge.  This is the first time in almost 20 years, that residents of the 10th Municipal Court District, (which extends from 110th Street to 153rd Street in Harlem), elected a new Civil Court Judge.

J. Machelle Sweeting was born and raised in Harlem and has over 16 years’ experience handling a broad range of civil, criminal and family issues in city, state and federal courts.

Throughout her legal career, J. Machelle Sweeting has remained committed to ensuring that equality and justice remain at the forefront of our legal system.  She has served with distinction as an Administrative Law Judge, a Special Referee, an Assistant Corporation Counsel, an Assistant District Attorney, and a Law Clerk to a Supreme Court and Appellate Justice.  

She is the only attorney admitted to practice law in New York, Washington DC, the 4th Circuit of Virginia and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.  Her victory at the polls set another historic milestone in Caribbean-American history. Tuesday’s election made her the first woman of Bahamian-American ancestry to be elected as a Judge.  

Judge Sweeting earned her law degree from Rutgers University School of Law, where she established the law school’s first legal training program for high school students, and received the J. Skelly Wright Prize for her commitment to civil rights, civil liberties and community affairs.  She is a member of several local, state and national civic organizations and bar associations and has received numerous awards including “Empire State Counsel” by the New York State Bar Association; “The People’s Lawyer” for her dedication and commitment to providing access to justice; “Arbitrator of the Year” by the Association  of Arbitrators; “Bahamian American of the Year” for excellence to the Caribbean community; “The Law Enforcement Service Award” by the New York City Police Department and “Member of the Year” by the Metropolitan Black Bar Association.

She is 2nd Vice-President of the NAACP Mid-Manhattan Branch and is a monthly speaker at National Action Network's Legal Night.

J. Machelle Sweeting‘s qualifications for the bench have been evaluated by several bar associations and she has received the highest ratings of: “Most Highly Qualified”  by the Independent Judicial Screening Panel; “Highly Approved” by the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York (LeGaL); “Approved” by the New York City Bar Judicial Committee; and “Approved” the New York Women’s Judiciary Committees.