October 13, 2006
Immigration Judge Takes Oath of Office
In Phoenix
PHOENIX - Bruce A. Taylor was sworn in today as an immigration judge for the Florence Immigration Court during an investiture ceremony at 2 p.m. at the Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse. Acting Chief Immigration Judge David L. Neal, from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in Falls Church, Va., administered the oath of office.
Judge Taylor joins the ranks of more than 200 immigration judges located in 53 immigration courts throughout the nation. Immigration judges are responsible for conducting formal administrative proceedings to determine whether foreign-born individuals who are charged with violations of federal immigration law should be removed from the United States or may be granted relief from removal. Immigration judges decide each case independently and their decisions are final unless appealed or certified to the Board of Immigration Appeals. In the past year, immigration judges completed more than 300,000 matters. They also are authorized to administer oaths of citizenship to candidates for naturalization.
Bruce A. Taylor was appointed as an immigration judge in April 2006. He received a bachelor of arts degree in 1972 from the University of Vermont and a juris doctorate in 1974 from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. From January 2004 to April 2006, Judge Taylor served as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general, Criminal Division, Department of Justice (DOJ), in Washington, D.C. He served as president and chief counsel for the National Law Center for Children and Families, Inc., in Fairfax, Va., from January 1995 to January 2004. From July 1989 to December 1994, Judge Taylor served as a senior trial attorney in the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Criminal Division, DOJ, Washington, D.C. He was an assistant attorney general for the state of Arizona from January to July 1989. Judge Taylor was vice president and general counsel for Citizens for Decency through Law, Inc., in Cleveland and in Phoenix from 1979 to 1989. He was an attorney and associate in the law firm of Bertsch, Fludine, Millican & O'Malley, in Cleveland from 1978 to 1979. Judge Taylor was an assistant director of law from 1977 to 1978, and an assistant prosecutor from 1975 to 1977, both with the City of Cleveland. He is a member of the Ohio, Arizona, New York, and Virginia bars.
- EOIR -
EOIR is responsible for adjudicating immigration cases. Specifically, under delegated authority from the Attorney General, EOIR interprets and administers the federal immigration laws by conducting immigration court proceedings, appellate reviews, and administrative hearings. EOIR consists of three components: the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge, which is responsible for managing the numerous immigration courts located throughout the United States where immigration judges adjudicate individual cases; the Board of Immigration Appeals, which primarily conducts appellate reviews of immigration judge decisions; and the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer, which adjudicates immigration-related employment cases. EOIR is committed to providing the fair, expeditious, and uniform application of the nation's immigration laws in all cases.
Information about EOIR immigration proceedings is available on EOIR’s website at http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/press/subject.htm.
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