Professor Justin Brooks is the Director of California Innocence Project, the Institute for Criminal Defense Advocacy, and California Western's LL.M. in Trial Advocacy Specializing in Federal Criminal Law. Prior to coming to California, Professor Brooks practiced as a criminal defense attorney in Washington D.C., Michigan, and Illinois. Over the course of his career he has served as counsel on several high profile criminal cases and has been successful in exonerating wrongfully convicted clients. He has been recognized several times by the Los Angeles Daily Journal as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California. In 2010, California Lawyer Magazine awarded him the prestigious "Lawyer of the Year" award.
Professor Brooks is a co-founder of California Innocence Project at California Western School of Law. The project is an in-house law school clinic that investigates and litigates cases of factual innocence while training law students to be ethical, justice-driven advocates. The project has been successful in exonerating many wrongfully convicted clients and has been recognized with several awards, as well as local, national, and international media attention.
