Brett G. Sweitzer is Chief of Appeals for the Federal Community Defender Office. He joined the office in 2003, and supervises all appellate litigation. In addition, since 2011 Mr. Sweitzer has served as national co-chair of the Defender Supreme Court Resource and Assistance Panel, which provides guidance and support to federal defenders and Criminal Justice Act attorneys appearing in merits-stage litigation in the Supreme Court. In that capacity, he is involved in numerous cases each Term.

Mr. Sweitzer is a member of the Advisory Committee for Third Circuit Model Criminal Jury Instructions, and sits on the Executive Council of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Federal Practice Committee. He teaches appellate advocacy at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and regularly presents on topics of appellate practice and legal writing at programs organized by the Federal Judicial Center in Washington D.C. and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute in Philadelphia.

Before joining the Federal Community Defender Office, Mr. Sweitzer was an attorney with the law firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP in Philadelphia. Mr. Sweitzer received his B.A., magna cum laude, in 1993 from Colgate University, and his J.D., cum laude, in 1998 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.