Michael Sanders was the first person in Hawaii to be tried under the 1994 Violence Against Women Act.

He was also the first to be acquitted.

According to the Honolulu Star Bulletin (October 17, 1997), Sanders faced federal charges that he traveled from New Mexico to Kauai to find his ex-wife Mary Beth, who left her ex-husband for allegedly beating and threatening her. Crossing state lines with the intent to violate protection orders is a federal offense since the passing of the 1994 act, designed to protect domestic violence victims from their abusers.

U.S. Attorney Steven Alms said that the Sanders case was hard to prosecute because Sanders never touched his ex-wife, who screamed when she saw him on the beach, and called the police.

Sanders was previously convicted of harassment in Arkansas (1990) and terroristic threatening in Texas (1991).