Joseph T. Leonard
Immigration Judge, Harlingen Immigration Court. Appointed October 2018 by Jeff Sessions.
Asylum record, FY 2021-2026
TRAC source →- Decisions on the merits
- 187
- Asylum granted
- 51
- Other relief granted
- 66
- Denied
- 70
- Against own court
- -8.7 pts
| FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21% | 39% | 50% | 39% |
Docket
Respondents represented by counsel: 68% (nationally, 81% are represented).
Most common nationalities: Mexico (22.5%), Honduras (12.8%), Cuba (12.3%), Venezuela (11.8%), Guatemala (10.7%).
Official biography
Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Joseph T. Leonard to begin hearing cases in October 2018. Judge Leonard ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1999 from Texas A&M University and a Juris Doctor in 2002 from the University of Texas School of Law. From 2008 to 2018, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas, first in Brownsville and later in McAllen. From 2005 to 2008, he was an assistant district attorney in Hidalgo County, Texas. In 2005, he was an attorney in private practice. From 2003 to 2005, hewas an assistant county attorney in Williamson County, Texas. From 2002 to 2003, he was an associate with Fitzbaugh & Elliott, P.C., in Houston. Judge Leonard is a member of the State Barof Texas.
In the record
No published reporting or appellate decisions naming this judge have been collected yet.
Other judges at Harlingen
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.