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 John M Gillies earned a Bachelor of Science in 1984 and a Juris Doctor in 1991, both from the University of Florida. From 2009 to 2018 he worked in the DOJ Office of International Affairs as a trial attorney and acting associate director, and earlier served as a trial attorney in the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section and as chief of staff and counsel in the Civil Rights Division. He previously served as chief legal counsel for Senator Saxby Chambliss (2003-2005) and as an assistant U.S. attorney in Nevada and Georgia (1998-2003), beginning his career with a clerkship on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
736
Completions per year
4,417 total
0.7%
Detained at decision
share of cases
14.6 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
27.6%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
4.6%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
23.5%
Appeals remanded or reversed
34 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
34.5%
290 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
3%
397 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
41.7%
72 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
4 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
100%⚠
42 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
97.6%
165 decisions Moderate
34.5%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 290 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
34.5%
This court
26.2%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 37% 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 · 261 decisions since 2021
34.1%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 29 decisions since 2021
37.9%
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).