Maurice "Maury" Swann is a criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles. Some time after the 1993 murder of Marie Gesto, he began representing Anthony Garland. In 2006, he represented serial killer Raynard Waits. Working with Abel Pratt he brokered a deal in which Waits would confess to Gesto's murder. The confession was a lie intended to protect Garland, and Swann's role in the deal was somewhat protected by attorney-client privilege. The scheme began to fall apart under investigative pressure from Harry Bosch. Pratt went to Swann's home and threatened to drown him in his swimming pool. Whether this threat was real or just a bluff is unknown because Bosch intervened and arrested Pratt.