Judge Margaret McManus

FY 2001 - 2006

Judge McManus was appointed as an Immigration Judge in January 1991. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Catholic University of America in 1973, and a Juris Doctorate from Brooklyn Law School in 1983. Judge McManus was an attorney for Marion Ginsberg, Esquire from 1989 to 1990 in New York. She was in private practice in 1987 and 1990, also in New York. Judge McManus worked as a consultant to various nonprofit organizations on immigration matters including Catholic Charities and Volunteers of Legal Services from 1987 to 1988 in New York. She was an adjunct clinical law professor for City University of New York Law School from 1988 to 1989. Judge McManus served as a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society, Immigration Unit, in New York, from 1983 to 1987. She is a member of the New York Bar.

Deciding Asylum Cases

NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: 2001
grantrate (Sum): 7.9 NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: 2002
grantrate (Sum): 4.9 NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: 2003
grantrate (Sum): 17.1 NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: 2004
grantrate (Sum): 11.6 NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: 2005
grantrate (Sum): 11.9 NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: 2006
grantrate (Sum): 13.5
VBAR chart of fy

Figure 1: Percent of Asylum Matters Denied

Detailed data on Judge McManus decisions are available for the period covering fiscal years 2001 through 2006. During this period, Judge McManus is recorded as deciding 1946 asylum claims on their merits. Of these, she granted 1508, gave 216 conditional grants, and denied 222. Converted to percentage terms, McManus denied 11.4 percent and granted (including conditional grants) 88.6 percent. Figure 1 provides a comparison of Judge McManus's denial rate fiscal year-by-year over this recent period.

Nationwide Comparisons

Compared to Judge McManus's denial rate of 11.4 percent, nationally during this same period, immigration court judges denied 60.8 percent of asylum claims. In the New York Immigration Court where Judge McManus was usually based, judges there denied asylum 42.7 percent of the time. See Figure 2.

NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: Judge
percent (Sum): 11.4 NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: New York
percent (Sum): 42.7 NAME OF FORMER VARIABLE: U.S.
percent (Sum): 60.8
VBAR chart of _NAME_

Figure 2: Comparing Denial Rates (percents)

Judge McManus 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 McManus receives a rank of 237. That is 236 judges denied asylum at higher rates, and 1 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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percent: 0.96 (96%)
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 McManus, 3.9% 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: Mauritania
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.77%) nationality: Mauritania
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.77%) nationality: Mauritania
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.77%) nationality: Mauritania
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.77%) nationality: Mauritania
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.77%) nationality: Mauritania
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.77%) nationality: Mauritania
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.77%) nationality: Mauritania
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.77%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.98%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.98%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.98%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.98%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.98%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.98%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.98%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.98%) nationality: Yugoslavia
Percent of Total Frequency: 3% (2.98%) nationality: Indonesia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (3.6%) nationality: Indonesia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (3.6%) nationality: Indonesia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (3.6%) nationality: Indonesia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (3.6%) nationality: Indonesia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (3.6%) nationality: Indonesia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (3.6%) nationality: Indonesia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (3.6%) nationality: Indonesia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (3.6%) nationality: Indonesia
Percent of Total Frequency: 4% (3.6%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (7.14%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (7.14%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (7.14%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (7.14%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (7.14%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (7.14%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (7.14%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (7.14%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (7.14%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (7.14%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (7.14%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (7.14%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (7.14%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (7.14%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (7.14%) nationality: Albania
Percent of Total Frequency: 7% (7.14%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: Other
Percent of Total Frequency: 29% (28.62%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 55% (54.88%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 55% (54.88%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 55% (54.88%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 55% (54.88%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 55% (54.88%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 55% (54.88%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 55% (54.88%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 55% (54.88%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 55% (54.88%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 55% (54.88%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 55% (54.88%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 55% (54.88%) nationality: China
Percent of Total Frequency: 55% (54.88%)
PIE3D chart of nationality

Figure 4: Asylum Decisions by Nationality

For Judge McManus, the largest group of asylum seekers appearing before her came from China. Individuals from this nation made up 54.9 % of her caseload. Other nationalities in descending order of frequency appearing before Judge McManus were: Albania (7.1 %), Indonesia (3.6%), Yugoslavia (3%), Mauritania (2.8%). 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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