Appointed September 2016 · President Barack Obama→ Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch
9 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Walter H. Ruehle earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1976 from the State University of New York at Oneonta and a Juris Doctor in 1979 from Albany Law School of Union University. Before his appointment, he served with the Legal Aid Society as an attorney and director of its Immigration Program and Upstate New York Immigration Law Project (1993-2016), as an adjunct professor at Cornell Law School (2012-2013), in private practice in Rochester, New York (1991-1993), with Neighborhood Legal Services in Hartford, Connecticut (1990-1991), and with Farmworker Legal Services of New York (1979-1990).
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,218
Completions per year
7,308 total
7.5%
Detained at decision
share of cases
10.2 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
20.4%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
7.3%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
7.2%
Appeals remanded or reversed
139 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.
86.8%⚠
Bond requests granted
38 bond decisions Too few cases
$12,500
Median bond when set
33 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 86.8%
Court average 75% · median $12,000
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
43.1%
736 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
5.2%
868 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
77.6%
85 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
4 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
84.6%
78 decisions Moderate
Voluntary departure
90.2%
123 decisions Moderate
43.1%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 736 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
43.1%
This court
33.1%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 27% 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 · 711 decisions since 2021
44.6%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 25 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).