Justin Brooks

Justin Brooks serves as Professor of Practice and Academic Director of the LLM in U.S. Law Online Programs at the University of San Diego School of Law. With over 35 years as a criminal defense attorney handling high-profile cases, he co-founded and directed the California Innocence Project (1999-2023), securing freedom for 40 wrongfully convicted individuals including NFL player Brian Banks.

His academic credentials include:

• LLM, Georgetown University (1992)
• Juris Doctor, American University (1990)
• Bachelor of Business Administration, Temple University (1986)

Specializing in Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Wrongful Convictions, Professor Brooks combines frontline legal practice with academic rigor. His expertise spans innocence project development, global training initiatives (particularly across Latin America), and systemic analysis of justice failures. He is renowned for identifying patterns in wrongful convictions including eyewitness misidentification, forensic errors, and prosecutorial misconduct.

His scholarly output reveals consistent focus on post-conviction relief mechanisms and innocence advocacy, with publications evolving from casebook development to empirical studies of exoneration patterns and targeted legal reform proposals. Recent work emphasizes cross-jurisdictional applications of innocence frameworks.

Prestigious recognitions include:

• Top 100 Lawyers in California (Los Angeles Daily Journal)
• Lawyer of the Year (California Lawyer Magazine, 2010 & 2012)
• International Lawyer of the Year (2020)
• Champion of Justice (NACDL, 2020)
• Ohtli Award (Mexican Government, 2024)

Through the California Innocence Project, Professor Brooks mentored generations of law students in clinical advocacy while establishing innocence organizations globally. His current leadership of USD's LLM program extends this mentorship to international legal professionals.

The California Innocence Project under his direction became a globally replicated model, combining rigorous case investigation with systemic reform advocacy that influenced innocence work across Latin America and inspired the feature film 'Brian Banks' (where he is portrayed by Greg Kinnear).