Appointed March 2020 · President Donald Trump→ Attorney General William P. Barr
6 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Edward Lee obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1978 from the University of California, Irvine, and a Juris Doctor in 1983 from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. He served as a California Superior Court judge in Santa Clara County from 1996 to 2020 and as a municipal court judge for Santa Clara County from 1992 to 1996. Earlier in his career he was a senior trial attorney for the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office from 1984 to 1992. He is a member of the State Bar of California.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
487
Completions per year
1,947 total
0.4%
Detained at decision
share of cases
49.4 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
6.7%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
7.2%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
2.2%
Appeals remanded or reversed
45 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
46.7%
259 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
3%
265 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
17.2%⚠
29 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
60%⚠
5 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
83.3%⚠
12 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
100%⚠
8 decisions Too few cases
46.7%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 259 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
46.7%
This court
32.6%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 23% 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 · 245 decisions since 2021
48.2%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 14 decisions since 2021
21.4%
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).