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 Wade Thomas Napier earned a Bachelor of Science in 2001 from Transylvania University and a Juris Doctor in 2005 from Northern Kentucky University's Salmon P. Chase College of Law. From 2008 to 2021, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky in Lexington. Earlier he was a staff attorney for a trial court judge in Boone County, Kentucky, and worked in the claims litigation department of Great American Insurance Company in Cincinnati.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
454
Completions per year
2,726 total
6.8%
Detained at decision
share of cases
37.7 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
15.7%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
15.6%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
5.7%
Appeals remanded or reversed
53 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.
100%⚠
Bond requests granted
1 bond decision Too few cases
$10,000
Median bond when set
1 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 100%
Court average 14.9% · 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
23.4%
576 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
2.3%
863 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
36.7%
60 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
44.4%⚠
9 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
92.9%
56 decisions Moderate
Voluntary departure
88.1%
118 decisions Moderate
23.4%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 576 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
23.4%
This court
32.6%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 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 · 537 decisions since 2021
25%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 39 decisions since 2021
2.6%
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).