The Honorable Immigration Judge Douglas B Schoppert
New York — Broadway, NY Immigration Court
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 Douglas B Schoppert earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1978 from Georgetown University and a Juris Doctor in 1982 from the College of William and Mary. Before his appointment, he was in private practice in Falls Church, Virginia (1995-1997), consulted for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (1994), served as a supervisory attorney with Catholic Charities/Hogar Hispano in Arlington, Virginia (1993-1994), and worked as a supervisory attorney with the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago (1988-1992).
Caseload & process (since 2021)
542
Completions per year
2,712 total
0.2%
Detained at decision
share of cases
15.9 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
14.5%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
2.1%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 18 appeals — too few
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
83.5%
406 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
20.9%
134 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
92%
87 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
1 decision Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
97%⚠
33 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
100%⚠
3 decisions Too few cases
83.5%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 406 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
83.5%
This court
33.3%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 3% 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 · 404 decisions since 2021
83.9%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 2 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).