Source: EOIR — Find an Immigration Court.
Recording an internet-based hearing is prohibited (8 C.F.R. § 1003.28). Respondents without a representative default to in-person hearings.
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Jerrica A Harness was appointed as an immigration judge in May 2024 by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2000 from Berry College and a Juris Doctor in 2007 from the University of Tennessee College of Law. From 2007 to 2012, she served as an assistant state attorney in Florida's First Judicial Circuit, and from 2012 to 2017 as an administrative hearing officer for the Tennessee Department of Human Services. She later served as an attorney advisor with the Social Security Administration (2017-2019), briefly as an assistant chief counsel with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Lumpkin, Georgia (2019), and as a supervisory administrative law judge for the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (2019-2024). She is a member of the Tennessee Bar.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,114
Completions per year
4,454 total
77.8%
Detained at decision
share of cases
1.2 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
0%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
2.5%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
29%
Appeals remanded or reversed
69 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.
24.6%
Bond requests granted
875 bond decisions High confidence
$7,500
Median bond when set
361 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 24.6%
Court average 38.5% · median $5,000
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
8.5%
118 decisions Moderate
Withholding / CAT
3.8%
263 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
2%⚠
49 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
23.5%⚠
17 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
40%⚠
5 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
93.1%
635 decisions High confidence
8.5%
of asylum claims granted on the merits Moderate
Based on 118 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
8.5%
This court
19.5%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 15% 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 · 80 decisions since 2021
10%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 38 decisions since 2021
5.3%
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.
* 2026 is a partial year (data through 06/01/2026) and is incomplete.
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).