Suranjan M. Sen is an Attorney at the Institute for Justice. Suranjan graduated from Yale Law School in 2019, where he was a senior editor of both the Yale Law Journal on Regulation and the Yale Law & Policy Review. During and immediately after law school, Suranjan spent a summer clerking for Chief Judge Susan G. Braden of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and he spent two summers working for the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell. For the year between law school and joining IJ, Suranjan clerked for Judge Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Suranjan, who is from Tennessee, earned a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University in 2010 with double majors in music and political science. His time between college and law school was bookended by two year-long academic fellowships abroad: A teaching position within United International College, Zhuhai’s Government and International Relations department (People’s Republic of China), and a student of Indian language and culture with the American Institute of Indian Studies (India). He otherwise was a full-time musician when not assisting with his family’s small business. It was his experience with that small business that inspired him to pursue a career as a litigator and join the IJ team.
Suranjan's Cases
Miami Permit Takings
Chad Trausch and his wife’s family was growing, so he decided to expand his Miami home. But when he submitted plans for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom addition, the city came back with a strange request: it…
Private Property | Rental Caps
NYC Vacant Apartments
New York City has a housing shortage. At the same time, tens of thousands of apartments sit vacant because New York’s Rent Stabilization Law (NYRSL) makes it economically unfeasible for building owners to lease them. The NYRSL was originally enacted in the 1970s as an emergency measure…
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Alabama Open Fields
Three northern Alabama residents have teamed up to file a lawsuit challenging a statute that allows game wardens to trespass on private property without a warrant.
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom
Florida Cultivated Meat Ban
Americans love meat. According to the USDA, between beef, pork, chicken, and turkey, the average American eats nearly 225 pounds of meat per year.
Immunity and Accountability | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property | SWAT Destruction
Slaybaugh SWAT Appeal
Who pays when the government destroys private property for a public purpose, such as getting a fugitive off the streets? The answer should be clear: if the government breaks it, the government buys it. That’s…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Ocean Springs Blight
Ocean Springs, Mississippi declared properties in parts of the city blighted slums in a secretive process. Now, property owners are suing to protect their homes, businesses, and a church.
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property | SWAT Destruction
Los Angeles SWAT Destruction
For thirty years, Carlos Pena ran a print shop in North Hollywood. His world was turned upside down, however, in August 2022, when a fugitive forced his way into Carlos’s shop and barricaded himself inside…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
DeVillier v. Texas
Victory! In April 2024, the Supreme Court vacated the Fifth Circuit decision and ruled the DeVillier family can sue Texas for flooding caused by the state. Richie DeVillier lives on the same patch of Texas…
Housing Abundance and Affordability | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Zoning Justice Project
Seattle Housing Affordability
Seattle's Mandatory Housing Affordability law is making it unaffordable to build housing.
Arizona Charitable Sharing
Norma Thornton was arrested for feeding the hungry in Bullhead City Community Park. Now, Norma has teamed up with IJ to fight back against Bullhead's law criminalizing charitable sharing in federal court.
4th Amendment Project | Fines and Fees | Private Property
Brookside, Alabama Fines
Victims of Brookside, Alabama's policing abuses filed a class action to affirm that police must act in the interest of justice, not their pocketbooks…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property | SWAT Destruction
Baker v. City of McKinney – Texas SWAT Destruction
Police destroyed Vicki Baker’s home while pursuing a fugitive, costing her tens of thousands of dollars and leaving her daughter’s dog with hearing loss. The city refused to pay for the damage it caused. IJ…
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom
Wisconsin Cottage Foods II
Wisconsin bans the sale of many homemade foods, including common and shelf-stable foods like candies, chocolates, granola and roasted coffee beans. Seven Wisconsinites have joined with IJ to challenge the state’s arbitrary law.
Suranjan's Amicus Briefs
Community Housing Improvement Program, et al. v. City of New York, et al.
United States Supreme Court
CHIP et al. v. City of New York
2nd Circuit Court of Appeals
Suranjan's News, Articles & Publications
Suranjan's Podcasts
February 26, 2026
NYC has 1000’s of empty apartments. You'll never guess why.
New York City is in a housing crisis—and according to official statistics, roughly 26,000 rent stabilized apartments sit vacant. That’s because New York City law […]
Listen NowNovember 28, 2025
Short Circuit 404 | A Permit to Pray?
Can a city require you to get a permit if you’re having a few people over to pray? In an Ohio town it was a […]
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