Both Sides of the Law: My Life of Catching Crooks and Freeing the Innocent

Alan Pfeuffer's life is an adventure on both sides of the law. He was a beat cop for 20 years before he joined the DEA as an undercover agent. Then came a botched trial: two drug smugglers Pfeuffer had arrested were set free because of a defense attorney's machinations. At that moment, Pfeuffer decided to become an attorney. Not one to follow a typical career path, Pfeuffer became a federal public defender in Columbus, Ohio. Although he was an ex-cop, he decided to defend criminals because he knew that thousands are convicted because of poor defense representation rather than their guilt. In 2005, Pfeuffer volunteered to defend two Afghani men suspected of terrorism who were detained at Guantanamo Bay. In the summer of 2006, he traveled to Afghanistan in the hopes of collecting enough evidence to free them both. The Supreme Court ruled in their favor and both were freed on technicalities Pfeuffer brought to light. Based upon his initial success, Pfeuffer has recently been assigned to two more Guantanamo cases. He just returned from Afghanistan, where he collected evidence for the defense. Packed with real-life stories and anecdotes, "Both Sides of the Law "is the story of Pfeuffer's unusual and inspired criminal justice and legal careers.