Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Meaney received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Saint Peter's College in 1908, an Artium Magister degree from the same institution in 1909, and a Bachelor of Laws from Fordham University School of Law in 1911.
He served in the United States Army from 1917 to 1919 and achieved the rank of first lieutenant.
He was a Judge of the Hudson County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in New Jersey from 1923 to 1934.
He was a Judge of the Hudson County Court of Common Pleas from 1934 to 1938.
[1] Meaney was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 4, 1942, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey vacated by Judge Thomas Glynn Walker.