Appointed August 2018 · President Donald Trump→ Attorney General Jeff Sessions
8 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge David C Koelsch earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1988 from Michigan State University and a Juris Doctor in 1994 from Catholic University. From 2017 to 2018, he served as a supervisory asylum officer with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Arlington, Virginia, and from 2015 to 2017 as an appeals officer with the Administrative Appeals Office. From 2002 to 2015, he was a professor and director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, and earlier practiced at Dykema and Hopkins & Sutter.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,149
Completions per year
6,892 total
0.7%
Detained at decision
share of cases
15.3 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
19.8%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
5.9%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
0%
Appeals remanded or reversed
91 appeals decided
Bond decisions
Custody redetermination (bond) rulings since 2021.
"Granted" means the judge lowered the bond, ordered release on recognizance, or otherwise granted the request.
0%⚠
Bond requests granted
1 bond decision Too few cases
—
Median bond when set
—
Released on own recognizance
This judge 0%
Court average 25.5% · median $10,500
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
66.1%
1,279 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
24.1%
819 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
28.2%⚠
39 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
75%⚠
4 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
94.3%
70 decisions Moderate
Voluntary departure
92.9%⚠
42 decisions Too few cases
66.1%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 1,279 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
66.1%
This court
42%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 8% of the 825 judges nationally with enough cases to compare.
Does a lawyer matter here?
Asylum grant rate by whether the person had legal representation.
With a lawyerrepresented · 1,158 decisions since 2021
69.7%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 121 decisions since 2021
32.2%
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).