Appointed November 1983 · President Ronald Reagan→ Attorney General William French Smith(AG inferred from date)
42 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Caseload & process (since 2021)
972
Completions per year
5,829 total
0.7%
Detained at decision
share of cases
26 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
14.4%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
1.2%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
7.7%
Appeals remanded or reversed
39 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
29.3%
99 decisions Moderate
Withholding / CAT
7.2%
166 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
18.8%⚠
16 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
2 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
94.3%⚠
35 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
93.1%⚠
29 decisions Too few cases
29.3%
of asylum claims granted on the merits Moderate
Based on 99 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
29.3%
This court
20.2%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 46% 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 · 94 decisions since 2021
30.9%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 5 decisions since 2021
0%
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).