Appointed January 1987 · President Ronald Reagan→ Attorney General Edwin Meese III(AG inferred from date)
39 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Dana Leigh Marks earned an undergraduate degree in 1974 from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Juris Doctor in 1977 from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. From 1976 to 1978 she worked as a law clerk and associate attorney at Stiller and Nervo in San Francisco, and from 1978 to 1986 she was an attorney associate and partner at Simmons & Ungar in San Francisco, where she argued the landmark asylum case INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca before the U.S. Supreme Court. She was appointed as an Immigration Judge in January 1987 and later led the National Association of Immigration Judges.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
76
Completions per year
152 total
0%
Detained at decision
share of cases
27.3 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
0%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
2.6%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 1 appeals — too few
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
72.7%⚠
11 decisions Too few cases
Withholding / CAT
0%⚠
6 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
100%⚠
36 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
1 decision Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
100%⚠
11 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
100%⚠
1 decision Too few cases
72.7%⚠
of asylum claims granted on the merits
Based on 11 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021. Fewer than 50 — treat this figure with caution.
This judge
72.7%
This court
68.2%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
Does a lawyer matter here?
Asylum grant rate by whether the person had legal representation.
With a lawyer⚠represented · 11 decisions since 2021
72.7%
Without a lawyerunrepresented
no data
Asylum grant rate over time
Each point is that calendar year's grant rate, back to 2015 where the judge was deciding cases — the longer career view. Dashed grey line = current national average (31.8%). Headline rates above use 2021 – today.
Courts where this judge has decided cases
Hearing locations for cases this judge completed since 2021, by number of decisions.
Many judges hear cases from more than one court (detained facilities, video dockets, or reassignments).