Charles Swift

Charles D. Swift
On March 26, 2006, Lt. Cmdr. Swift appeared on Washington Journal , two days before oral arguments in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld began at the U. S. Supreme Court.
Born	1961

Charles D. Swift is a Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) in the U.S. Navy, Judge Advocate General's Corps. He is assigned to the Department of Defense Office of Military Commissions and is most famous for having served as defense counsel for Salim Ahmed Hamdan.^[1] Hamdan, a former driver for Osama bin Laden captured during the invasion of Afghanistan, was charged in July 2004 with conspiracy to commit terrorism.^[2] As Hamdan's legal counsel, Swift together with the law firm of Perkins Coie and Professor Neal Katyal, appealed Hamdan's writ of habeas corpus petition to the U. S. Supreme Court. In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. , 126 S.Ct. 2749 (2006), the justices ultimately held that the military commission to try Salim Hamdan was illegal and violated the Geneva Conventions as well as the United States Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).^[3][4] Ultimately, Swift was passed over for promotion and will have to retire under the military's "up or out" promotion system.^[5][6] Swift stated he learned of being passed over two weeks after the Supreme Court decided in Hamdan's favor.^[6]

Background

Born in 1961, Charles Swift is a native of Franklin, North Carolina. Following his graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1984, Swift served in a variety of surface warfare billets as described in the below table. In 1991, he left active service to attend Seattle University Law School, where he graduated cum laude. Resuming active service in 1994, he affiliated with the navy’s Judge Advocate General's Corps (1994-present). In May 2006, LCDR Swift received a Master of Law Degree in litigation with high honors from Temple University through a scholarship from the U.S Navy Judge Advocate General. A comprehensive biography can be found here (website for the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy, different from LCDR Swift's commissioning source). Recently, Swift joined Emory Law as a Visiting Associate Professor and Acting Director of Emory Law's newly established International Humanitarian Law Clinic.^[7] Summary of LCDR Swift's assignments:

Accolades

Swift was the subject of a brief biographical article in the December 2004 issue of Esquire.^[8] In December 2005 he was chosen as runner-up Lawyer of the Year by the National Law Journal for his challenge to the Guantanamo review tribunals. In June 2006, the National Law Journal also named Swift as one of "The 100 most influential lawyers in America."^[9] LCDR Swift's decorations and medals include ^[10]:

• Surface Warfare Badge
• Navy Commendation Medal (2 awards)
• Navy Achievement Medal (6 awards)
• Navy Expeditionary Medal
• Humanitarian Service Medal
• Sea Service Ribbon (4 awards)

See also

• Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
• Matthew Diaz

References

External links

• Navy Lawyer Charles Swift Battles Bush in Guantanamo Bay Case, Bloomberg.com, March 2006
• Testimony of Lieutenant Commander Charles D. Swift, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, June 2005
• "Marine Corps Issues Gag Order in Detainee Abuse Case". Article about a legal team representing a different detainee (Omar Khadr) at Guantanamo, by Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times, October 15, 2006, accessed on October 31, 2006.
• Eroding detainees rights. Nat Hentoff, The Washington Times, October 30, 2006, accessed on October 31, 2006.
• FY07 Navy Line O5 Board