Judge Kristofer R. McDonald
How is this compared?
This judge: 46 of 1,561 (2.9 %) got relief (includes their cases in other courts). The other judges in the court: 494 of 15,971 (3.1 %). We say "more" or "less" only when the difference is statistically clear (two-proportion test, 95%); otherwise "similar".
Decisions over 12 months
In plain words
Out of every 100 cases this judge decided, 3 got relief. The vast majority end without relief.
4 of every 10 cases were decided in absentia, without the person at the hearing. Going to your hearing is the most important thing you can do.
With and without an attorney, the share with relief was similar (4.3 % and 0.4 %).
Of their 1,561 decisions, 46 ended with relief, 146 with the case closed, 55 with voluntary departure and 1,314 with a removal order.
| Outcome | Decisions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | 46 | 2.9 % |
| Case closed | 146 | 9.4 % |
| Voluntary departure | 55 | 3.5 % |
| Removal order | 1,314 | 84.2 % |
| Decided in absentia | 641 | 41.1 % |
This judge, the court and the nation
With Kristofer R. McDonald, the share of cases with relief is 2.9 %: similar than at the Los Angeles court (3.0 %) and higher than nationwide (2.4 %).
With Kristofer R. McDonald, the share of removal orders is 84.2 %: higher than at the Los Angeles court (82.2 %) and higher than nationwide (75.6 %).
With Kristofer R. McDonald, the share of cases decided in absentia is 41.1 %: lower than at the Los Angeles court (50.8 %) and lower than nationwide (45.3 %).
With Kristofer R. McDonald, the share of people with an attorney is 65.9 %: higher than at the Los Angeles court (60.1 %) and higher than nationwide (38.1 %).
Cases with Kristofer R. McDonald take about the same as at the Los Angeles court: a median of 930 days versus 907.
Compared with other judges
- Ranked 8 of 14 for relief among the judges of their court (1 = most relief).
- Ranked 12 of 14 for cases decided in absentia (1 = most in absentia).
- Ranked 10 of 14 for speed (1 = fastest).
- Grants relief more often than 60 of every 100 judges nationwide (among 850 judges with 50 or more decisions).
Decisions per month (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)
The busiest month was Mar 2026 (193 decisions) and the quietest Dec 2025 (60).
| Month | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. prior month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 151 | 7 | 103 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 136 | 3 | 86 | down |
| Nov 2025 | 115 | 3 | 77 | down |
| Dec 2025 | 60 | 3 | 25 | down |
| Jan 2026 | 187 | 1 | 84 | up |
| Feb 2026 | 190 | 2 | 49 | up |
| Mar 2026 | 193 | 3 | 55 | up |
| Apr 2026 | 112 | 11 | 35 | down |
| May 2026 | 96 | 3 | 22 | down |
| Jun 2026 | 89 | 3 | 25 | down |
| Jul 2026 | 126 | 0 | 57 | up |
| Aug 2026 | 106 | 7 | 23 | down |
Months with fewer than 5 decisions are dotted: with so few cases, that month's percentage says little.
By nationality
The nationality with the most decisions before Kristofer R. McDonald is Mexico (313), followed by Guatemala, Colombia, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The highest share with relief was for people from Nicaragua (3.7 %).
| Country of origin | Decisions | Relief | In absentia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 313 | 1.3 % | 45.4 % |
| Guatemala | 243 | 0.4 % | 39.5 % |
| Colombia | 195 | 0.0 % | 58.0 % |
| El Salvador | 152 | 1.3 % | 32.2 % |
| Nicaragua | 135 | 3.7 % | 43.7 % |
Only countries with 25 or more decisions with this judge; cases without a recorded nationality are not included.
With and without an attorney
| Decisions | Relief | |
|---|---|---|
| With an attorney | 1,029 | 4.3 % |
| Without an attorney | 532 | 0.4 % |
Where this judge decides
- Los Angeles - West Los Angeles Immigration Court: 1,378 decisions (88.3 %)
- Imperial Immigration Court: 56 decisions (3.6 %)
- Adelanto Immigration Court: 51 decisions (3.3 %)
- Tacoma Immigration Court: 39 decisions (2.5 %)
- Denver Immigration Court: 35 decisions (2.2 %)
- Eloy Immigration Court: 1 decisions (0.1 %)
- Florence Immigration Court: 1 decisions (0.1 %)