- Email:
- stevesan@iu.edu
- Phone:
- (812) 855-1775
- Location:
- Baier Hall 263
Education
- Indiana University A.B.
- University of Michigan J.D.
Background
- Recipient of IU Trustees Teaching Award, 2020, 2017
- Has litigated in federal and state courts at all levels, including briefs and oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court
- Former attorney with the global law firm Mayer Brown LLP
- Clerked for the Hon. Terence T. Evans, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- Magna cum laude graduate, University of Michigan Law School
Biography
Steve Sanders teaches Constitutional Law, Constitutional Litigation (the law of Section 1983 actions for constitutional torts), Conflict of Laws, Family Law, Sexuality/Gender Identity and the Law, and a seminar on constitutional interpretation. His scholarship focuses on questions arising out of the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantees of equal protection and due process, with a special focus on issues affecting LGBTQ persons and same-sex couples. His work has appeared in the Michigan Law Review, Hastings Law Journal, and Fordham Law Review, among others, and has been cited in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, federal district court opinions, and briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts.
Sanders has twice been recognized with an IU Trustees Teaching Award. He has been designated a Henry H.H. Remak Distinguished Scholar by IU's Institute for Advanced Study, and has been honored by vote of Maurer students as “Outstanding Interactive Professor.” He serves as the law school's Faculty Director of Judicial Clerkships and as faculty advisor to the Indiana Law Journal. He has taught as a visiting professor or lecturer at the University of Michigan and University of Chicago law schools.
Sanders began his career as an administrative staff member at IU Bloomington, serving as Assistant to the Chancellor and Assistant Dean of the College of Arts Sciences. He then earned his J.D. from the University of Michigan, magna cum laude, where he was an articles editor on the law review and received the Bates Memorial Scholarship, the law school's highest award to graduating seniors. He clerked for the Hon. Terence T. Evans of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Sanders practiced for four years with the Supreme Court and appellate litigation group at Mayer Brown LLP in Chicago, where he became the firm's most-junior attorney to present a U.S. Supreme Court argument in a paid-client matter.
In addition to his scholarship and teaching, Sanders has participated in groundbreaking litigation. On behalf of the Human Rights Campaign, he co-authored an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which established nationwide marriage equality for gays and lesbians. A case he litigated in the Indiana Court of Appeals in 2013 led to the first published opinion by any court in the United States holding that a spouse's gender transition did not affect the validity of an existing marriage. And he authored a scholars' amicus brief in Varnum v. Brien (2008), the decision that made Iowa the second state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriages. He has represented the ACLU, the American Association of University Professors, and groups of scholars and scientists as amici curiae in the U.S. Supreme Court, two federal courts of appeals, and three state supreme courts. Most recently he represented a group of constitutional law professors in the Iowa Supreme Court in a case challenging Iowa's denial of Medicaid assistance to transgender people seeking gender-affirming surgeries.
Sanders also has been a leader in matters of academic freedom and university governance. He was a founding member of the Academic Freedom Alliance. For the Association of American Law Schools, he organized a Presidential Program on the 100th anniversary of the AAUP's landmark declaration on academic freedom. As an attorney he has represented a high-ranking federal official in the investigation of information that was improperly disclosed from a tenure proceeding at another university.
Sanders's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and SCOTUSBlog, among many other journalistic outlets and professional blogs. He has appeared on MSNBC and public radio's “To the Point,” has been a legal analyst for Bloomberg Radio, and is frequently quoted by print and online news media about matters of constitutional law, LGBTQ rights, and the Supreme Court. For his investigative journalism on IU's most recent presidential search, he was honored in 2022 with the Courage Award from the Indiana chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
In the Media
- Quoted in "In Indiana, Last-Minute Additions to the Budget Take Aim at Higher Ed," Chronicle of Higher Education (4/29/2025)
- Quoted in "Visa and status terminations bring uncertainty for international college students," The Indiana Lawyer (4/23/2025)
- Appeared at "Are we in a Constitutional Crisis?," Indiana Public Media (4/18/2025)
- Quoted in "Chatterbox Bar Adds Security After Confrontation," Newsbreak (3/19/2025)
- Quoted in "Owner defends bar against claims of kicked-out Trump hat wearer," WISH TV News (3/17/2025)
- Mentioned in "IU symposium looks at free speech in academics," The Indiana Lawyer (2/12/2025)
- Quoted in "UW Law School panel discusses free speech on campuses since pro-Palestine encampments," Daily Cardinal (1/31/2025)
- Spoke with "IU's Poynter Chair Carl Bernstein visits Maurer School of Law," Indiana Public Media (11/29/2024)
- Presented at "Legal scholars, BOT member question expressive activity policy’s legality," Indiana Daily Student (11/25/2024)
- Quoted in "Analysis: Bloomington city councilmember demands decorum, but what about First Amendment?," B Square Bulletin (11/16/2024)
- Quoted in "Deputy prosecutor fired for anti-Trump social media posts," WISH TV News (11/14/2024)
- Quoted in "7th Circuit Court of Appeals hears oral arguments in Bloomington," The Indiana Lawyer (10/29/2024)
- Quoted in "Seventh Circuit panel holds oral arguments at IU's Maurer law school," Indiana Public Media (10/24/2024)
- Quoted in "Federal court dismisses ACLU lawsuit against Purdue, IU," Purdue Exponent (8/30/2024)
- Appeared on "IU's New Expressive Activities Policy," Indiana Public Media (8/22/2024)
- Mentioned in "Columbia's Shafik Is Out. What’s Next?," Chronicle of Higher Education (8/19/2024)
- Quoted in "Indiana Argues Professors Lack First Amendment Rights in Public Classrooms," Sanders_20240814-indiana-says-professors-lack-1a-rights (8/14/2024)
- Quoted in "Biden pushes to reform the nation's highest court," The Indiana Lawyer (8/14/2024)
- Mentioned in "IU, Purdue not in full agreement with state's arguments in ‘intellectual diversity’ case," The Indiana Lawyer (8/13/2024)
- Quoted in "Enforcement will be key to Indiana University's new 'expressive activities' policy," Journal Gazette (8/6/2024)
- Quoted in "Skeptics, supporters analyze Cooley report on Dunn Meadow," Indiana Public Media (8/5/2024)
- Quoted on "IU's Board of Trustees pass expressive activities policy," Indiana Newsdesk (8/3/2024)
- Mentioned in "'I begged you yesterday not to make martyrs': An inside look into IU's protest response," Herald Times (7/26/2024)
- Quoted in "Supreme Court ruling limits prosecutions for corruption," The Indiana Lawyer (7/17/2024)
- Quoted in "Supreme Court ruling in Snyder case could impact how officials interact with contractors, vendors," Chicago Tribune (7/1/2024)
- Quoted in "What Supreme Court case could mean for Indiana's ban on gender-affirming care for minors," IndyStar (6/26/2024)
- Quoted in "Appeals court asks lawmakers to set policy on birth certificate gender changes," Herald Bulletin (6/17/2024)
- Wrote "No, Jim Banks, IU professors are not ideologues. They model nuanced debate.," IndyStar (5/6/2024)
- Quoted in "Indiana University Changes Assembly Ground Policy, Sparking Backlash," University Herald (5/1/2024)
- Quoted in "Abrupt Changes to Protest Policies Raise Alarm," Inside Higher Ed (4/30/2024)
- Quoted in "IU offers concessions in wake of arrests at Dunn Meadow protests," Fox 59 News (4/29/2024)
- Quoted in "'Serious First Amendment problem': A day before protests, IU changed a free assembly policy," Herald Times (4/28/2024)
- Quoted in "IU changes policy day before encampment arrests," Indiana Public Media (4/26/2024)
- Quoted in "'Utterly unprincipled': Policy created on eve of protest used to make arrests," Indiana Daily Student (4/26/2024)
- Appeared on "Noon Edition: Campus protests and the first amendment," WFIU News (4/25/2024)
- Quoted in "A Public University Wants to Prevent 'Disruptive Activities.' That's Complicated.," Chronicle of Higher Education (4/1/2024)
- Quoted in "'A new McCarthyism': Students, faculty worried about pro-Palestine censorship at IU," Herald Times (2/8/2024)
- Appeared on "Here’s how the 2024 election could be shaped by the courts," WFIU Noon Edition (1/12/2024)
- Quoted in "IU suspends political science professor for helping Palestine rights student group," Herald Times (1/10/2024)
- Appeared on "Indiana continues to struggle with attorney shortages," WFIU Noon Edition (12/1/2023)
- Quoted in "Could the fight over an Indiana transgender student's access to a school bathroom make it to SCOTUS?," WFYI News (11/22/2023)
- Wrote "Judges Have Long Been Deferential to Academe. That’s Changing.," Chronicle of Higher Education (11/6/2023)
- Quoted in "Impact of Affirmative Action Supreme Court Ruling, According to Legal Scholar," WFHB News (10/13/2023)
- Appears on "Panelists: How will Indiana's anti-LGBTQ laws affect youth?," South Bend Tribune (9/27/2023)
- Quoted in "Early Transgender Care Challenge Wins Falter at Appeals Courts," Bloomberg Law (8/24/2023)
- Quoted in "Pew: Religious groups concerned over decline of marriage in US," Fox 5 News (8/21/2023)
- Mentioned in "Join The Tribune for a discussion of Indiana's anti-LGBTQ laws," South Bend Tribune (8/21/2023)
- Quoted in "IU law professor breaks down Trump’s Georgia indictments," WISH TV News (8/15/2023)
- Quoted in "Alternate paths to student loan forgiveness possible, Biden says," Indiana Lawyer (7/19/2023)
- Mentioned in "What now for law school diversity? Big Ten deans, professors share thoughts after Supreme Court ruling," Minnesota Lawyer (7/12/2023)
- Quoted in "Legal experts say affirmative action ruling reverses decades of precedent," WISH TV News (6/29/2023)
- Quoted in "IU Law Prof: SCOTUS creates voting rights 'ripple effect'," WRBI Radio News (6/28/2023)
- Quoted in "The professor is canceled. Now what?," Washington Post (6/21/2023)
- Mentioned in "Indiana University Northwest celebrates Pride Month with events, activities," NWI.LIFE (6/9/2023)
- Quoted in "Hoosier political, legal experts weigh in on what's next after Trump indictment," WTHR News (3/31/2023)
- Quoted in "Experts: Guarding schools against litigation can produce unforeseen consequences," Pharos Tribine (3/25/2023)
- Quoted in "Proposed Bill Would Make Protesting Outside A Person’s Home Illegal," WIBC News (2/8/2023)
- Quoted in "Lawmakers discuss bill to criminalize protesting outside officials’ homes," WISH TV News (2/8/2023)
- Quoted in "Judicial or legislative? COA continues to face gender-marker cases, asks justices to step in," The Indiana Lawyer (12/21/2022)
- Quoted in "Biden Law Creates Path to Overturning Gay Marriage Ruling, Ministry Boasts," Newsweek (12/13/2022)
- Quoted in "The Senate, House voted to protect same-sex marriage. Here's what it means in Indiana," Indy Star (12/8/2022)
- Quoted in "Respect for Marriage Act's impact on Indiana," WSBT News (12/8/2022)
- Quoted in "Court sides with conservative group on All Lives Matter street mural," Indiana Public Media (11/23/2022)
- Quoted in "School districts fight and dodge Indiana’s $1-school-building giveaway law," Fox59 News (11/21/2022)
- Quoted in "Supreme Court rulings to look out for this term," Indiana Daily Student (11/7/2022)
- Appeared on "WFHB Local News," WFHB News (11/2/2022)
- Quoted in "Supreme Court to hear Indiana case on public nursing homes," CBS4 News (10/10/2022)
- Quoted in "The Supreme Court Is Blowing Up Law School, Too," Slate (10/2/2022)
- Quoted in "A crucial precedent? New Mexico Trump loyalist barred from office over Jan. 6 insurrection," Salon (9/6/2022)
- Quoted in "Narrow ruling against transgender girl sports ban law gives some families hope it'll be struck down," WRTV News (7/26/2022)
- Quoted in "Questions remain after Indiana Senate GOP introduces abortion bill," WIBQ AM (7/21/2022)
- Quoted in "Steve Sanders on Full Faith and Credit and the Respect for Marriage Act," Reason (7/20/2022)
- Quoted in "Possible Impact of Roe V. Wade Overturn on Indiana," Fox 59 News (6/27/2022)
- Quoted in "Indiana lawmakers to address abortion access during special session following Roe v. Wade," WSBT News (6/24/2022)
- Quoted in "After a Fraught Semester, a University Wrestles With the Meaning of 'Shared Governance'," Chronicle of Higher Education (6/17/2022)
- Quoted in "Abortion restrictions likely coming to Indiana if draft opinion is published," The Indiana Lawyer (5/25/2022)
- Discussant on "Professor Steve Sanders," Supreme Myths (5/20/2022)
Selected works
- Secrecy and the University: A Cautionary Case Study, in THE ETHICAL UNIVERSITY: TRANSFORMING HIGHER EDUCATION (Alison Renteln and Wanda Teays, eds.) (Rowman & Littlefield 2022).
- Book review: Susan Gluck Mezey, Transgender Rights: From Obama to Trump, 41 JOURNAL OF WOMEN, POLITICS & POLICY No. 3 (2020).
- Dignity and Social Meaning: Obergefell, Windsor, and Lawrence as Constitutional Dialogue, 87 FORDLAM L. REV. 2069 (2019).
- The Cultural Politics of Dan Quayle and Mike Pence, 52 IND. L. REV. 69 (2019).
- Religious Arguments, Religious Purposes, and the Gay and Lesbian Rights Cases, 17 FIRST AM. L. REV. 237 (2018).
- Making It Up: Lessons for Equal Protection Doctrine from the Use and Abuse of Hypothesized Purposes in the Marriage Equality Litigation, 68 HASTINGS L.J. 657 (2017).
- Pavan v. Smith: Equality for Gays and Lesbians in Being Married, Not Just in Getting Married, AMER. CONST. SOC. S. CT. REV. 2016-2017
- Race, Restructurings, and Equal Protection Doctrine Through the Lens of Schuette v. BAMN, 81 BROOK. L. REV. 1393 (2016).
- RFRAs and Reasonableness, 91 IND. L.J. 243 (2016).
- Book Review: Somin, Ilya, Democracy and Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government Is Smarter, 1 J. CIVIC LITERACY (July 2014).
- Mini-DOMAs As Political Process Failures: The Case for Heightened Scrutiny of State Anti-Gay Marriage Amendments, 109 NW. U.L. REV. ONLINE 12 (2014).
- India, Nepal, and Pakistan: A Unique South Asian Constitutional Discourse on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (with Sean Dickson), in SOCIAL DIFFERENCE AND CONSTITUTIONALISM IN PAN-ASIA (Susan Williams, ed.) (Cambridge University Press 2014).
- Is the Full Faith and Credit Clause Still "Irrelevant" to Same-Sex Marriage?: Toward a Reconsideration of the Conventional Wisdom, 89 IND. L.J. 95 (2014).
- Affirmative Action and Academic Freedom: Why the Supreme Court Should Continue Deferring to Faculty Judgments About the Value of Educational Diversity, 1 IND. J.L. SOC. EQ. Art. 2 (2013).
- The Constitutional Right to (Keep Your) Same-Sex Marriage, 110 MICH. L.REV. 1421 (2012).
- Interstate Recognition of Parent-Child Relationships: The Limits of the State Interests Paradigm and the Role of Due Process, 2011 U. CHI. LEGAL F. 233 (2011).
Areas of expertise
- Academic freedom
- Civil rights
- Constitutional law
- Family law
- LGBT issues
- University governance
- US Supreme Court