Justin Brooks is a Professor of Practice at the University of San Diego School of Law and one of America's most accomplished innocence attorneys. He founded the California Innocence Project in 1999 and served as its director until 2023, during which time the project helped exonerate 40 wrongfully convicted individuals.
Among those he helped free is Brian Banks, a former NFL prospect who spent five years in prison after a false accusation. Banks' story was told in the 2018 feature film Brian Banks, with Academy Award–nominated actor Greg Kinnear portraying Justin on screen.
Justin's work extends far beyond California. He has spent years traveling internationally to train attorneys and help establish innocence organizations across Latin America and the world, driven by his conviction that wrongful convictions are a global phenomenon demanding global knowledge-sharing and collaboration.
A prolific author and educator, Justin has written two major books on wrongful conviction (with a third on its way) and teaches criminal law, criminal procedure, and post-conviction advocacy at the University of San Diego School of Law, where he directs the school's Innocence Clinic.