David Dante Troutt

David Dante Troutt is a Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School and the Justice John J. Francis Scholar. As the founding director of the Rutgers Center on Law, Inequality and Metropolitan Equity (CLiME), he focuses on race, class, and legal structures; intellectual property; torts; and critical legal theory. He has been a faculty member since 1995, after practicing corporate and public interest law in New York and California.

His research explores the intersections of race, class, and place, examining systemic inequities in spatially determined opportunity through interdisciplinary analysis. He investigates themes such as colorblindness, concentrated poverty, civil rights theories, and mutuality in public law. His intellectual property work centers on personhood and authorship, while his critical theory scholarship emphasizes narrative methodology and cultural constructions of marginalization.

Troutt is the author of influential publications including The Price of Paradise and After the Storm, which address metropolitan inequality and disaster-related legal challenges. He contributes to national periodicals like Politico and Reuters, and has received honors including the Distinguished Professor of Law and Justice John J. Francis Scholar titles. His work bridges academic theory and public engagement through CLiME.