Some Background on Lt. Commander Swift

David Goodman, writing about Swift in Amnesty Magazine, said, " For the first time since World War II a military defense lawyer -- a Navy lieutenant commander -- is suing the government in federal court over a case to which he has been assigned. The lawsuit names as defendants President George Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, among others. It calls the military commissions proposed by Bush "an unprecedented, unconstitutional, and dangerously unchecked expansion of executive authority."

Lt. Commander Swift has received a great deal of press about the recent Hamdan decision. Following is some brief biographical data and some remarks by Swift in interviews with Amnesty Magazine and a home-town newspaper.

Most of the information in this post was taken from a long interview, not currently available on-line, in the Macon County News and Shopping Guide

Lt. Commander Charles Swift is the son o f Dr. and Mrs Lloyd Swift, now of Falls Church, VA . Swift is a 1979 graduate of Franklin High School (NC), Kiski School, the Naval Academy and Temple University.

Among the many questions in the interview, Swift answered that specifically the first question about the defense of Hamdan revolves around the war itself-- "is it a war?"

In 20004 in Amnesty Magazine, Swift said that one of the things that initially disturbed him about the case was that, bottom-line, "… I took a hard look at it, this was an administrative proceeding with less due process than what is afforded to someone who is about to lose their job. ...I was disturbed by it."

Swift insisted that there must rules. Rules distinguish between sides: "we're the good guys…we follow the rules." The creation of rules must follow a particular process, While allowing that the President may need some extraordinary powers for a short period time, Swift noted that the President needs the Congress to change the rules: ". . . it is not two days after 9/11. It's five years later. There is time for Congress to act…"

Swift was adamant about the separation of powers in the Constitution. "The executive power should not dispense justice." Noting that throughout history the evolution of justice hinged on the idea that "Courts dispense justice, not kings." Swift reiterated a notion that is oft-repeated: "no one is above the law"

In closing, Swift addressed the idea that the "bad guys" are entitled to a defense ; the principle is an old one that Swift elaborated on by referring to John Adams defending the Boston Massacre perpetrators. He shrugged off questions about his work interfering with his Navy career. Swift can retire in nine months; he has been passed over for promotion.