Appointed May 1997 · President Bill Clinton→ Attorney General Janet Reno(AG inferred from date)
29 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge David W. Crosland earned a Bachelor of Science in 1959 from Auburn University and a Juris Doctor in 1966 from the University of Alabama. From 1977 to 1981, he served as general counsel and then acting commissioner of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service. From 1981 to 1987, he practiced immigration law as a partner at the Washington, D.C. firms Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver and Crosland, Strand, Freeman & Mayock. He served as an immigration judge at the Otay Mesa Immigration Court in California from May 1997 to June 2000 and taught as an adjunct professor of law at George Washington University and the District of Columbia School of Law. He is a member of the Alabama, Georgia, and District of Columbia Bars.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
369
Completions per year
1,476 total
0.5%
Detained at decision
share of cases
51.3 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
1.5%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
7.2%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
28%
Appeals remanded or reversed
25 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.
100%⚠
Bond requests granted
1 bond decision Too few cases
$3,000
Median bond when set
1 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 100%
Court average 14.9% · median $7,500
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
40.7%
248 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
9.2%
434 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
82.2%⚠
45 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
100%⚠
28 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
100%⚠
16 decisions Too few cases
40.7%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 248 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
40.7%
This court
32.6%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 30% 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 · 235 decisions since 2021
43%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 13 decisions since 2021
0%
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).