The Honorable Immigration Judge William David Neumeister

Sacramento, CA Immigration Court
Appointed December 2010 · President Barack Obama → Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.
15 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Caseload & process (since 2021)
762
Completions per year
4,572 total
16.1%
Detained at decision
share of cases
10 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
13%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
2.9%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
39.3%
Appeals remanded or reversed
28 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.
56.9%
Bond requests granted
181 bond decisions Moderate
$8,500
Median bond when set
304 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 56.9%
Court average 50% · median $20,000
National 41.9% · median $6,500

Grant rates by type of relief

Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
 77.9% 691 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
 39.1% 248 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
 93.4% 61 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
 63.6%⚠ 11 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
 92.9%⚠ 14 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
 94.7% 132 decisions Moderate
77.9%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 691 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
77.9%
This court
66%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 6% 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 · 558 decisions since 2021
77.2%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 133 decisions since 2021
80.5%

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.
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%2015: 78.3% of 69 decisions78.3%20152016: 77.8% of 54 decisions77.8%20162017: 68.2% of 66 decisions68.2%20172018: 35.3% of 116 decisions35.3%20182019: 48% of 127 decisions48%20192020: 45.6% of 103 decisions45.6%20202021: 58.3% of 84 decisions58.3%20212022: 84.5% of 84 decisions84.5%20222023: 88.9% of 135 decisions88.9%20232024: 85.8% of 261 decisions85.8%20242025: 62.6% of 107 decisions62.6%20252026 (partial year): 35% of 20 decisions35%2026*
* 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).
Sacramento, CA · home court
3,175 (69%)
Adelanto, CA
1,298 (28%)
Los Angeles, CA
44 (0.96%)
San Diego, CA
7 (0.15%)
Imperial, CA
7 (0.15%)
Otay Mesa, CA
7 (0.15%)