He attended Dartmouth College where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968.

He graduated with a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1972.

He then served as the Director of the Division of Land and Water Management of the Department of Natural Resources, State of Alaska from 1981 to 1982.

[1] Sedwick was nominated by George H. W. Bush on July 2, 1992, to the United States District Court for the District of Alaska, to a seat vacated by Judge Andrew Kleinfeld.

On March 13, 2011, John W. Sedwick assumed senior status.