Vancouver, Wash. – Deputy County Manager Amber Emery today announced that the county has selected long-time public defense attorney Christopher Swaby as the county’s first Director of Public Defense and Chief Public Defender. Christopher will join the county on July 1.

“Christopher is a known and respected leader across the state of Washington with more than three decades of litigation experience,” said Deputy County Manger Amber Emery. 

Swaby is on the board of the Washington Defender Association, a member of the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Washington State Bar Association Council on Public Defense and the Washington State Bar Association Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council. 

Christopher began his career in 1990 as a staff attorney for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. Christopher moved to eastern Washington in 2000, where he practiced on the felony defense panel in Benton County.  He moved to the Seattle area and joined the Defender Association (TDA) as a staff attorney in the felony division and was later promoted to felony division supervisor. Christopher left TDA in 2012 and joined a small boutique criminal defense firm. In 2015, he left the firm to start a solo criminal defense practice. He has represented clients in matters in Benton, Cowlitz, Franklin, Gray’s Harbor, Island, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, Snohomish, Spokane, Thurston and Yakima counties.  

Christopher was born and raised in Washington, D.C. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Virginia and a juris doctor from the Georgetown University of Law Center.

“The establishment of the new Public Defenders’ Office reflects Clark County’s ongoing commitment to fostering a justice system that is equitable and responsive to the needs of its residents,” said Swaby. “I am deeply committed to addressing the pressing issues facing public defense services in Clark County.”

The county council in November 2023 approved using American Recovery Plan Act funding to create the new Public Defense office. The county is process of transitioning away from a contract model to provide county staffed indigent defense services.