Founding Director of the California Innocence Project Joins the University of San Diego’s School of Law with a Focus on Improving the Justice System in Latin America

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Justin Brooks, the founding director of the California Innocence Project from 1999-2023, started the fall semester as a new professor of practice at the University of San Diego (USD)’s School of Law and will concentrate his work on improving the justice system in Latin America through advanced legal education and hands-on advocacy training. Through Brooks’ guidance, law professors and students will get the tools and legal expertise they need to make an impact in their communities through the judicial system.

As a changemaker institution, the addition of Justin Brooks to USD’s School of Law is a seamless partnership to continue the university’s mission of confronting humanity’s urgent challenges and working for justice not just in San Diego, but around the world. With decades of experience, and success, as a lawyer, Brooks will add to the university’s team of highly ranked professors who bring their practical experience into the classroom and give students the invaluable knowledge they need to be changemakers in their communities.

“Justin will greatly advance our programs in Mexico and across Latin America by building partnerships, spreading professional knowledge and working toward a more just world. Justin has achieved remarkable success in advancing justice, and we’re excited to see his work grow as a part of the USD community,” said Robert Schapiro, Dean and C. Hugh Friedman Professor of Law.

As the founding director of the California Innocence Project, Brooks helped to free 40 wrongfully convicted people from prison in the United States and expanded his reach to Latin America, assisting in the launching of 38 innocence projects that have exonerated more than 30 people. Outside of his role at USD, Brooks will focus on Latin American innocence projects by meeting with organizers in countries spanning from Chile to Mexico and the Caribbean and providing his legal expertise to help free prisoners who have been wrongfully convicted.

At USD, Brooks will serve as the academic director of a new online master’s program in Comparative Law taught in Spanish. He will also work as a grant administrator, alongside Dr. Karen Sigmond, Senior Director of Graduate, International and Certificate Programs and Program Director, on the Mexican Mediation and Litigation Program and “Mexico Law Student Litigation and Mediation Initiative,” which is a training program for Mexican law professors and students with an intent to deliver effective and continuing courses within Mexican law schools navigating the intricacies of oral arguments, thanks to a nearly $3 million grant from the United States Department of State.

“USD School of Law, and particularly Dean Schapiro, has shown a tremendous commitment to justice work in Latin America,” says Brooks. “I am so excited to continue my work in such a supportive environment. As a border law school, it is important that we work on both sides of the border, collaborate with our colleagues to the South, and do everything we can to improve justice for all.”

Prior to joining USD Law, Professor Brooks practiced as a criminal defense attorney in Washington, D.C., Michigan, Illinois, and California in both the trial and appellate courts. Most recently, he served as a faculty member at California Western School of Law. Brooks is the author of the only legal casebook devoted to the topic of wrongful convictions and the recent author of “You Might Go to Prison, Even Though You’re Innocent,” a book that details the causes of wrongful convictions. He is portrayed by Academy Award nominated actor Greg Kinnear in the feature film “Brian Banks,” a movie about one of his most famous exonerations.

Brooks has a BBA from Temple University. He earned a JD from American University and holds an LLM from Georgetown University Law Center.

SOURCE University of San Diego