Appointed January 2016 · President Barack Obama→ Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch
10 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Denise Hochul earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1980 from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Juris Doctor in 1985 from Ohio Northern University, Claude W. Pettit College of Law. Before her appointment, she served in various capacities with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Buffalo, including senior attorney and assistant chief counsel (1996-2015), and earlier as an assistant district attorney in the Erie County District Attorney's Office (1987-1996). She also served as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of New York.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,056
Completions per year
6,333 total
6.7%
Detained at decision
share of cases
8.3 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
21.6%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
3%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
11.1%
Appeals remanded or reversed
45 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.
75%⚠
Bond requests granted
12 bond decisions Too few cases
$15,000
Median bond when set
8 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 75%
Court average 75% · median $12,000
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
57.1%
417 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
2.9%
407 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
76.3%
59 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
66.7%⚠
3 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
97.6%⚠
41 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
70.2%
57 decisions Moderate
57.1%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 417 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
57.1%
This court
33.1%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 14% 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 · 406 decisions since 2021
58.6%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 11 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).