Appointed August 2016 · President Barack Obama→ Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch
10 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Samuel B. Cole earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1995 from Rice University and a Juris Doctor in 1998 from Harvard Law School. From 1999 to 2003, he was an associate attorney at McDermott, Will & Emery in Chicago, and from 2003 to July 2016 he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago. He was appointed as an immigration judge in August 2016 and sits at the Chicago Immigration Court. Judge Cole is a member of the Illinois State Bar.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
790
Completions per year
3,950 total
57.3%
Detained at decision
share of cases
1.5 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
0%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
2.7%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
31.4%
Appeals remanded or reversed
102 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.
48.7%
Bond requests granted
1,303 bond decisions High confidence
$2,500
Median bond when set
940 bonds with amounts
10.1%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 48.7%
Court average 56.1% · median $3,500
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
18.1%
155 decisions Moderate
Withholding / CAT
22.2%
374 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
30.6%⚠
36 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
79.3%⚠
29 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
60%⚠
20 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
47.7%
809 decisions High confidence
18.1%
of asylum claims granted on the merits Moderate
Based on 155 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
18.1%
This court
45.7%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 36% 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 · 105 decisions since 2021
26.7%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 50 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.
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).