USD Law Advocate, Spring 2026

Professor Roy L. Brooks

SCHOLAR, TEACHER, MENTOR, TRAILBLAZER Roy L. Brooks retires after 47 years as a dedicated professor of law at the University of San Diego, but the groundbreaking scholar’s dedication to social justice and his influential vision will live on in his students’ work

❱❱ Professor Roy Brooks is one of USD’s most accomplished and beloved professors—one who has received the Thorsnes Prizes for both teaching and scholarship four times each, authored more than 20 books and countless journal articles, and has been recognized by the Library of Congress as a dis tinguished scholar both domestically and internationally. Long before his teaching career began at USD, Brooks developed his unique approach to academic scholarship while sitting around what law students called “the black table.” The black table was a legendary site for debates in the Yale Law School dining hall, where students like Brooks would vigorously discuss social justice issues, including the legacy of the Civil Rights era and abortion rights. Among those at the table in the early 1970s were Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham, Clarence Thomas and Lani Guinier—all of whom became political, cultural and legal heavyweights. “Even at that time, we had a sense that our conversations would

become national policy in the future,” Brooks recalled. Besides his exposure to those future leaders, the black table is where much of Brooks’s philosophy about legal analysis and, indeed, life was formed. It is where he learned that a sound legal argument could be made by people whose positions he did not necessarily share. It was there that he realized he could strengthen his argument—and maybe even change minds—by listening carefully, staying open-minded and considering alternatives. Fifty years later, those remain core beliefs for Brooks, one of two professors named the first Warren Distinguished Professor of Law. These are some of the same principles he is committed to passing down to the next generation of legal scholars. Said Brooks, “My scholarship tries to make sure that all voices are heard and respected, and that we try to come to what I call the virtuous common ground. That is what we are all looking for.”

USD SCHOOL OF LAW

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