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As a defense counsel in the Department of Defense, Lieutenant Commander Charles D. Swift is currently detailed to represent Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who is facing trial by military commission. In April of 2004, Lieutenant Commander Swift filed suit against the Secretary of Defense challenging the lawfulness of the military commissions. In November of 2004, the district court enjoined further proceedings by Mr. Hamdan's military commission until the proceedings complied with the Geneva Conventions and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Lieutenant Commander Swift has extended his efforts beyond the commission process itself and has waged an effective battle in the court of public opinion. Lieutenant Commander Swift has testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the lawfulness of military commissions, and in December 2004, Esquire magazine recognized him as one of the “Best and Brightest” for his work in the Hamdan case. Lieutenant Commander Swift, a native of Franklin, North Carolina, is a 1984 graduate of the United State Naval Academy. After graduation he served as the Damage Control Assistant onboard the USS Niagara Falls, the Navigator onboard the USS Rathburne, and the Assistant for International Training at the Surface Warfare Department Head School. Lieutenant Commander Swift left active service to attend law school at Seattle University School (formerly the University of Puget Sound School of Law) in 1991. After graduating cum laude, he affiliated with the Navy's Judge Advocate Generals Corp and returned to active service in 1994. Lieutenant Commander Swift's initial assignment as Judge Advocate was as a defense counsel and legal assistance officer at Naval Legal Service Northwest where he was selected as the Junior Officer of the Year for 1997. His next assignment was as Staff Judge Advocate and Special Assistant United States Attorney for Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico where he participated extensively in the litigation involving the Navy's target range at Vieques, Puerto Rico. Most recently he was assigned as the Officer-in-Charge of the Navy's second largest Naval Legal Service Detachment at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, where--in addition to representing individual service members--he was responsible for the oversight of the military and civilian attorneys and Legalmen assigned to his detachment. Lieutenant Commander Swift has ten years of litigation experience, seven of those as a defense counsel, and has represented more than 150 service members in military justice proceedings including serving as lead military counsel in more than 20 contested courts-martial. He is also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the state of North Carolina.
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