The Honorable Immigration Judge Maureen O'Sullivan
Boston, MA Immigration Court
Appointed October 2010 · President Barack Obama→ Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.
15 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Maureen O'Sullivan earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1978, a Juris Doctor from Antioch School of Law in 1981, and a Master of Laws from Harvard University in 1986. Before the bench she directed the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild in Boston (1982-1985) and was a partner at Kaplan, O'Sullivan & Friedman in Boston (1990-2010), teaching intermittently as an adjunct law professor. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. appointed her to the Boston Immigration Court in October 2010.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,414
Completions per year
8,487 total
1.2%
Detained at decision
share of cases
47.2 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
6.8%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
1.6%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
50.9%
Appeals remanded or reversed
57 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.
66.7%⚠
Bond requests granted
6 bond decisions Too few cases
$3,250
Median bond when set
2 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 66.7%
Court average 26.6% · median $6,000
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
92.9%
910 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
18.2%
121 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
98.9%
189 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
88.9%⚠
9 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
99.8%
649 decisions High confidence
Voluntary departure
100%⚠
30 decisions Too few cases
92.9%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 910 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
92.9%
This court
45.6%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 1% 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 · 890 decisions since 2021
93%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 20 decisions since 2021
85%
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).