Steve Leben

Steve Leben
Douglas R. Stripp Missouri Distinguished Associate Professor of Law
School of Law

Contact Info
816-235-2387
appellate practice, statutory interpretation, procedural justice, criminal law

About

The Honorable Steve Leben has been named the Douglas R. Stripp Missouri Distinguished Professor of Law. Leben first joined the faculty in 2020 as a visiting professor after 27 years as a Kansas judge and 11 years of law practice in Kansas City. This fall, he becomes the fourth to serve as the Stripp Professor of Law, following Rafe Foreman (2011-2019), Robert Klonoff (2003-2007), and Andre Moenssens (1996-2002).

Leben’s research interest is procedural justice, and he has trained judges around the United States on how to improve perceptions of fairness in court proceedings. The National Center for State Courts gave him its highest award, the Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence, in 2014 in recognition of that work. He has recently published articles in the Kansas Law Review (on procedural justice on appeal) and the Drake Law Review (on procedural justice in a pandemic). Leben is an elected member of the American Law Institute and an officer of the American Bar Association’s Judicial Division. At UMKC Law, he teaches Criminal Law, Appellate Advocacy, Legislation, and Professional Responsibility.