Appointed April 1998 · President Bill Clinton→ Attorney General Janet Reno(AG inferred from date)
28 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Lawrence O Burman earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1971 from the University of Virginia and a Juris Doctor in 1978 from the University of Maryland. He served in the U.S. Army (1971-1975) and the Maryland National Guard (1975-1993), and was in private practice in Baltimore (1978-1988). He then served with the Immigration and Naturalization Service as a general attorney in Baltimore (1988-1990), assistant general counsel at INS headquarters in Washington, D.C. (1990-1991), and assistant district counsel in Baltimore (1991-1998).
Caseload & process (since 2021)
730
Completions per year
4,377 total
0.8%
Detained at decision
share of cases
50.9 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
14.2%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
3.9%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
45.2%
Appeals remanded or reversed
31 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.
83.3%⚠
Bond requests granted
12 bond decisions Too few cases
$1,500
Median bond when set
8 bonds with amounts
30%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 83.3%
Court average 42.9% · median $7,500
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
74.7%
673 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
30.3%
429 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
84.8%
105 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
87.5%⚠
8 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
94.4%
72 decisions Moderate
Voluntary departure
100%
67 decisions Moderate
74.7%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 673 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
74.7%
This court
32.6%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 6% 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 · 618 decisions since 2021
76.9%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 55 decisions since 2021
50.9%
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).