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 Sam Brown IV earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1999 from Emory University and a Juris Doctor in 2005 from Mercer University School of Law. Before his appointment, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Texas (2011-2019). Earlier he was an assistant district attorney in Stone Mountain, Georgia (2008-2011) and Dublin, Georgia (2007-2008), and a gun crime prosecutor for Project Safe Neighborhoods in the Macon Judicial Circuit (2005-2007).
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,384
Completions per year
8,305 total
1.8%
Detained at decision
share of cases
16.8 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
28.4%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
11.6%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
2.2%
Appeals remanded or reversed
91 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
2%
1,005 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
0.4%
1,863 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
6.9%
101 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
66.7%⚠
9 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
84.6%
52 decisions Moderate
Voluntary departure
78.8%
160 decisions Moderate
2%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 1,005 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
2%
This court
10.4%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 3% 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 · 775 decisions since 2021
2.5%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 230 decisions since 2021
0.4%
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).