As a member of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift served as defense counsel to Guatanamo Bay detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan before the U.S. Supreme Court in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the landmark 2006 decision striking down the U.S. government's use of military commissions to try Guantanamo detainees. Assigned to represent Hamdan, a Yemeni national and former driver for Osama bin Laden, Swift filed a habeas petition challenging his client's detention and ultimately the entire system of military commissions.

The American Civil Liberties Union honored Swift in 2005 with its Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty in recognition of his dedication to the preservation of the rule of law. He was named by the National Law Journal as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America in 2006. Swift is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Seattle University School of Law.  During his military career, he represented more than 150 service members in military justice proceedings. After retiring from the Navy in August 2007, he taught as a visiting professor at Emory University Law School, serving as the acting director of its International Humanitarian Law Clinic. He currently practices law at the firm Swift & McDonald in Seattle, Washington.