Francis E. Sweeney

This article is about the American politician and jurist. For the suspected serial killer, see Cleveland Torso Murderer.

Francis Edward Sweeney Sr. (January 24, 1934 – April 10, 2011)^[1] was an American politician and jurist of the Ohio Democratic party. He served as a justice of the Ohio Supreme Court^[2] from 1993 to 2004. While on the court, he formed a majority coalition with fellow Democrat Alice Robie Resnick and Republicans Paul Pfeifer and Andrew Douglas.

Francis Edward Sweeney Sr.
Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
In office January 1, 1993 – December 31, 2004
Preceded by	Robert E. Holmes
Succeeded by	Judith Ann Lanzinger
Personal details
Born	(1934-01-24)January 24, 1934 Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Died	April 10, 2011(2011-04-10) (aged 77)
Resting place	Holy Cross Cemetery, Brook Park, Ohio
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Lee Marie Yesback
Children	four
Alma mater	Xavier University Cleveland State University
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1957–1958

He earned his Juris Doctor from the Cleveland State University College of Law in 1963.

Sweeney, played defensive tackle for Xavier as well as in the Canadian Football League. His grandson Jake Ryan was a linebacker in the NFL, while two of his other grandsons (Connor (wide receiver) and Zack (linebacker) Ryan) played college football at Ball State.^[3]