New York · est. 2013Thursday, September 24, 2026
Inside Immigration

Plain-language guides to US immigration, asylum and USCIS procedure.

Immigration judges

David C. Whipple

Immigration Judge, Cleveland Immigration Court. Appointed April 2017 by Jeff Sessions.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Whipple39.3%
Cleveland court79.2%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
201
Asylum granted
78
Other relief granted
44
Denied
79
Against own court
-39.9 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
11%15%34%24%78%

Read from TRAC's chart to the nearest point. Years with fewer than 25 decisions are not shown.

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 89% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Venezuela (9%), Cameroon (7%), El Salvador (6%), Mauritania (6%).

Official biography

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed David C. Whipple to begin hearing cases in April 2017. Judge Whipple earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1991 and a Master of Arts in 1995 from the University of Michigan, and a Juris Doctor in 2007 from the University of Idaho College of Law. From March 2016 to April 2017, he served as a special assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona, Department of Justice. From October 2009 through April 2017, he served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of the Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Eloy and Florence, Ariz. From May 2007 to October 2009, he served as a deputy prosecuting attorney for the Office of the Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney in Idaho. Judge Whipple is a member of the Idaho State Bar.

As published by the Executive Office for Immigration Review at appointment, via TRAC.

In the record

  • Executive Office for Immigration Review · 2017-05-08

    EOIR Swears in Seven Immigration Judges

    EOIR announced that Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed David C. Whipple as an immigration judge for the Cleveland Immigration Court, invested at a May 2017 ceremony at EOIR headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia.

  • Yellow Springs News · 2019-09-26

    Immigration judge responds to community support - Villager granted bond, released

    The Yellow Springs News reports that Immigration Judge David C. Whipple granted bond to a local resident over DHS objections, weighing more than 120 letters of community support against the government's argument that the man was a danger and a flight risk.

Other judges at Cleveland

Court page →

About these figures. Denial rates describe outcomes in the cases a judge happened to hear, which differ by detention, nationality and representation. They are not a measure of fairness or competence. Method and sources are on the judges index.