Judge Craig M. Zerbe

FY 2001 - 2006

Judge Zerbe was appointed as an Immigration Judge in August 1985. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree. from La Salle College in 1970, and a Juris Doctorate from Temple University Law School in 1975. From 1980 to 1985, Judge Zerbe served as general attorney in the Litigation Division at the former Immigration and Naturalization Service in Chicago. From 1970 to 1972, he served in the U.S. Army. Judge Zerbe is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar.

Deciding Asylum Cases

NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: 2001
grantrate (Sum): 55 NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: 2002
grantrate (Sum): 54.6 NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: 2003
grantrate (Sum): 61 NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: 2004
grantrate (Sum): 63.8 NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: 2005
grantrate (Sum): 63.6 NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: 2006
grantrate (Sum): 39.2
VBAR chart of fy

Figure 1: Percent of Asylum Matters Denied

Detailed data on Judge Zerbe decisions are available for the period covering fiscal years 2001 through 2006. During this period, Judge Zerbe is recorded as deciding 850 asylum claims on their merits. Of these, he granted 357, gave 6 conditional grants, and denied 487. Converted to percentage terms, Zerbe denied 57.3 percent and granted (including conditional grants) 42.7 percent. Figure 1 provides a comparison of Judge Zerbe's denial rate fiscal year-by-year over this recent period.

Nationwide Comparisons

Compared to Judge Zerbe's denial rate of 57.3 percent, nationally during this same period, immigration court judges denied 60.8 percent of asylum claims. In the Chicago Immigration Court where Judge Zerbe was usually based, judges there denied asylum 63.1 percent of the time. See Figure 2.

NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: Judge
percent (Sum): 57.3 NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: Chicago
percent (Sum): 63.1 NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: U.S.
percent (Sum): 60.8
VBAR chart of _NAME_

Figure 2: Comparing Denial Rates (percents)

Judge Zerbe can also be ranked compared to each of the 238 individual immigration judges serving during this period who rendered at least one hundred decisions. If judges were ranked from 1 to 238 - where 1 represented the highest denial percent and 238 represented the lowest - Judge Zerbe receives a rank of 161. That is 160 judges denied asylum at higher rates, and 77 denied asylum at the same rate or less often.

Why Do Denial Rates Vary Among Judges?

Denial rates reflect in part the differing composition of cases assigned to different immigration judges. For example, being represented in court and the nationality of the asylum seeker appear to often impact decision outcome. Decisions also appear to reflect in part the personal perspective that the judge brings to the bench.

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PIE3D chart of represented

Figure 3: Asylum Seeker Had Representation
Representation

If an asylum seeker is not represented by an attorney, almost all (87%) of them are denied asylum. In contrast, a significantly higher proportion of represented asylum seekers are successful. In the case of Judge Zerbe, 3.4% were not represented by an attorney. See Figure 3. For the nation as a whole, about 8.2% of asylum seekers are not represented.

Nationality

Asylum seekers are a diverse group. Over one hundred different nationalities had at least one hundred individuals claiming asylum decided during this period. As might be expected, immigration courts located in different parts of the country tend to have proportionately larger shares from some countries than from others. And, given the required legal grounds for a successful asylum claim, asylum seekers from some nations tend to be more successful than others.

nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (4%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (4%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (4%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (4%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (4%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (4%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (4%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (4%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (4%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (4%) nationality: Colombia
Percent of Total Frequency: 5% (4.71%) nationality: Colombia
Percent of Total Frequency: 5% (4.71%) nationality: Colombia
Percent of Total Frequency: 5% (4.71%) nationality: Colombia
Percent of Total Frequency: 5% (4.71%) nationality: Colombia
Percent of Total Frequency: 5% (4.71%) nationality: Colombia
Percent of Total Frequency: 5% (4.71%) nationality: Colombia
Percent of Total Frequency: 5% (4.71%) nationality: Colombia
Percent of Total Frequency: 5% (4.71%) nationality: Colombia
Percent of Total Frequency: 5% (4.71%) nationality: Colombia
Percent of Total Frequency: 5% (4.71%) nationality: Colombia
Percent of Total Frequency: 5% (4.71%) nationality: Guatemala
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (6.6%) nationality: Guatemala
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (6.6%) nationality: Guatemala
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (6.6%) nationality: Guatemala
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (6.6%) nationality: Guatemala
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (6.6%) nationality: Guatemala
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (6.6%) nationality: Guatemala
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (6.6%) nationality: Guatemala
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (6.6%) nationality: Guatemala
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (6.6%) nationality: Guatemala
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (6.6%) nationality: Guatemala
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (6.6%) nationality: Guatemala
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (6.6%) nationality: Guatemala
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (6.6%) nationality: Guatemala
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (6.6%) nationality: Guatemala
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (6.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 9% (8.6%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 13% (13.19%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 63% (62.9%)
PIE3D chart of nationality

Figure 4: Asylum Decisions by Nationality

For Judge Zerbe, the largest group of asylum seekers appearing before him came from China. Individuals from this nation made up 13.2 % of his caseload. Other nationalities in descending order of frequency appearing before Judge Zerbe were: Albania (8.6 %), Guatemala (6.6%), Colombia (4.7%), Yugoslavia (4%). See Figure 4.

In the nation as a whole during this same period, major nationalities of asylum seekers, in descending order of frequency, were China (22.3%), Colombia (10.2%), Haiti (9.9%), Albania (3.9%), Indonesia (3.8%), India (3.5%), Guatemala (3.1%), El Salvador (2.1%), Armenia (2.1%), Mexico (1.7%), Russia (1.6%), Ethiopia (1.6%), Pakistan (1.5%), and Cameroon (1.4%).

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