Kelly S. Johnson

Immigration Judge, Memphis Immigration Court. Appointed November 2018 by Jeff Sessions.

StrictDenies far more often than the national average+28.3 points

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

Judge Johnson91.2%

Memphis court70.1%

All judges nationally62.9%

Decisions on the merits: 443
Asylum granted: 24
Other relief granted: 15
Denied: 404
Against own court: +21.1 pts

Denial rate by fiscal year
FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26
87%	83%	90%	94%	98%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 90% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Cuba (22.6%), Honduras (13.3%), Guatemala (9.7%), Mexico (8.8%), India (7.9%).

Official biography

Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Kelly Scot Johnson to begin hearing cases in November 2018. Judge Johnson ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1996 from the University of Missouri and a Juris Doctor in 2000 from the University of Tennessee College of Law. From2012 to 2018, he served as an assistant chief counsel and deputy chief counsel with the Office ofthe Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Lumpkin, Georgia. From 2010 to 2012, he served as an assistant chief counsel with ICE, DHS, in Port Isabel, Texas. From 2001 to 2010, he was an attorney in private practice, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Judge Johnson is a member of the Tennessee Bar.

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

In the record

No published reporting or appellate decisions naming this judge have been collected yet.

Other judges at Memphis

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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.