April 4, 2008
EOIR Swears In a New Assistant Chief Immigration Judge
and
11 Immigration Judges
New Judges To Serve In Eight Immigration Courts Nationwide
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) Director Kevin A. Ohlson announced that a new assistant chief immigration judge and 11 immigration judges were sworn in today during an investiture ceremony at EOIR Headquarters in Falls Church, Va.
Chief Immigration Judge David L. Neal administered the oath of office to MaryBeth Keller who will serve in the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge at EOIR Headquarters as the Assistant Chief Immigration Judge for Conduct and Professionalism.
Chief Judge Neal also administered the oath of office to the following new immigration judges who will preside in the immigration courts indicated below:
Eloy Immigration Court Headquarters Immigration Court Los Angeles Immigration Court Newark Immigration Court |
Orlando Immigration Court Salt Lake City Immigration Court
San Francisco Immigration Court Tacoma Immigration Court |
The judges have been appointed by the Attorney General after completing a rigorous application, evaluation, and interview process with EOIR. They join the ranks of more than 200 immigration judges located in more than 50 immigration courts nationwide.
Immigration judges conduct administrative courtroom proceedings to determine whether foreign-born individuals –– who are charged by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with violating immigration law –– should be removed from the United States or may be granted relief from removal to remain in the country. Immigration judges decide cases independently and on a case-by-case basis. Their decisions are final unless appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). In Fiscal Year 2007, immigration judges completed more than 270,000 proceedings.
Biographical information for the new immigration judges follows below:
Office of the Chief Immigration Judge, EOIR Headquarters
MaryBeth Keller, Assistant Chief Immigration Judge
MaryBeth Keller was appointed as an assistant chief immigration judge in February 2008, with primary responsibility for issues of conduct and professionalism relating to immigration judges. She received a bachelor of arts degree in 1984 from The Catholic University of America and a juris doctorate in 1987 from the University of Virginia School of Law. From 2004 to February 2008, Judge Keller served as general counsel at EOIR. During that time, from July 2006 to February 2008, she was acting assistant chief immigration judge for conduct and professionalism and from October 2004 to April 2006, she was acting chief administrative hearing officer. From 1988 to 2004, Judge Keller served at the BIA as a senior panel attorney and as an attorney advisor. From 1987 to 1988, she worked as a law clerk in the 5th Judicial District of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa. Judge Keller is a member of the Iowa Bar.
Eloy Immigration Court
James Alan DeVitto, Immigration Judge
Judge DeVitto was appointed as an immigration judge in March 2008. He received a bachelor of business administration degree in 1978 from Eastern Michigan University and a juris doctorate in 1990 from Western State University College of Law. From 2003 to March 2008, Judge DeVitto served as attorney for the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, DHS, in Tucson, Arizona. During this time, he worked as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. From 1998 to 2003, he served as sector counsel for the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in Tucson. From 1996 to 1998, Judge DeVitto was an assistant district counsel with the former INS in Los Angeles. From 1995 to 1996, he served as deputy district attorney with the District Attorney’s Office of Madera County, California. From 1990 to 1995, Judge DeVitto was in private practice and, during that time, also served as a law clerk with the District Attorney’s Office in Orange County, California. In 1989, Judge DeVitto worked with Orange County Fair Housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. From 1981 to 1987, he worked as a deputy sheriff with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Judge DeVitto is a member of the California Bar.
Stephen M. Ruhle, Immigration Judge
Judge Ruhle was appointed as an immigration judge in March 2008. He received a bachelor of arts degree in 1990 from the State University of New York at Albany and a juris doctorate in 1993 from Albany Law School. From September 1997 to March 2008, Judge Ruhle worked as deputy chief counsel and assistant chief counsel, Office of the Chief Counsel, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), DHS, in El Paso, Texas. From 1994 to 1997, he served in the U.S. Navy as a staff judge advocate and judge advocate. In 1998, Judge Ruhle joined the U.S. Army Reserve and continues to serve as a judge advocate. He is a member of the New York, Florida, and Colorado bars.
Linda Inez Spencer-Walters, Immigration Judge
Judge Spencer-Walters was appointed as an immigration judge in March 2008. She received a bachelor of arts degree in 1994 from the University of North Florida and a juris doctorate in 1997 from Nova Southeastern University. From 2000 to March 2008, Judge Spencer-Walters served as assistant chief counsel, ICE, DHS, in Phoenix. From 1998 to 2000, she worked as assistant district counsel in San Diego. From 1997 to 1998, Judge Spencer-Walters served as a judicial law clerk, entering on duty through the Attorney General’s Honors Program, in the San Diego Immigration Court. She is a member of the Florida Bar.
Headquarters Immigration Court
Quynh Vu Bain, Immigration Judge
Judge Bain was appointed as an immigration judge in March 2008. She received a bachelor of arts degree in 1988 from Dickinson College and a juris doctorate in 1991 from the Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University. From 2006 to 2008 and 1996 to 2001, Judge Bain served as senior litigation counsel and an appellate lawyer in the Department of Justice, Civil Division, Office of Immigration Litigation. From July 2003 to September 2006, she worked as a trial attorney in the Civil Division, Torts Branch, Environmental Torts Section. From 2001 to 2003, Judge Bain was detailed to the Office of the Deputy Attorney General where she served as counsel to the Deputy Attorney General. From 1991 to 1996, she was a trial attorney with the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), entering on duty through the Attorney General’s Honors Program in 1991. From 2000 to 2006, Judge Bain also served as an adjunct professor at American University, Washington College of Law, where she taught two courses in asylum and immigration law. She is a member of the Pennsylvania and New York State bars.
Los Angeles Immigration Court
Philip L. DiMarzio, Immigration Judge
Judge DiMarzio was appointed as an immigration judge in March 2008. He received a bachelor of arts degree in 1970 from Northern Illinois University, a juris doctorate in 1973 and a master of laws degree in 1981, both from the University of Illinois College of Law. From 1988 to March 2008, Judge DiMarzio served as a circuit court judge, Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, Illinois. From 1984 to 1988, he was State’s Attorney, DeKalb County, Illinois. From 1981 to 1984, Judge DiMarzio worked as an assistant professor, College of Business, Northern Illinois University. From 1975 to 1981, he was in private practice. From 1973 to 1975, Judge DiMarzio was an assistant state’s attorney, Cook County, Illinois. He is a member of the Illinois Bar.
Lourdes A. Rodriguez de Jongh, Immigration Judge
Judge Rodriguez de Jongh was appointed as an immigration judge in March 2008. She received a bachelor of arts degree in 1976 from the University of Miami and a juris doctorate in 1988 from the University of Miami School of Law. From 1995 to March 2008, Judge Rodriguez de Jongh served as an immigration attorney in private practice in Miami and Tucson, Arizona. During that time, from September 2001 to April 2002, she worked as a staff attorney with the Asylum Program of Southern Arizona in Tucson. From 1991 to 1995, Judge Rodriguez de Jongh served as a staff attorney with the Legal Services of Greater Miami–American Immigration Lawyer Association Pro Bono Project. She is a member of the Florida Bar.
Newark Immigration Court
Susan Girardo Roy, Immigration Judge
Judge Roy was appointed as an immigration judge in March 2008. She received a bachelor of arts degree in 1989 from Rutgers College, Rutgers University; a master of arts degree in 1990 from Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University; and a juris doctorate in 1996 from Georgetown University Law Center. From 2000 to March 2008, Judge Roy served as senior attorney and assistant chief counsel, ICE, DHS. From 1996 to 1999, she was an attorney advisor at the BIA, entering on duty through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. While serving in that capacity, from November 1997 to June 1999, she also participated part-time in a Department of Justice (DOJ) program as a special assistant corporation counsel with the DC Corporation Counsel Pro Bono program. From June 1994 to December 1994, she was a law clerk in the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Judge Roy is a member of the New York and New Jersey bars.
Orlando Immigration Court
Kevin J. Chapman, Immigration Judge
Judge Chapman was appointed as an immigration judge in March 2008. He received a bachelor of science degree in 1979 from Arkansas Tech University and a juris doctorate in 1986 from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. From 2003 to March 2008, Judge Chapman served as deputy general counsel, Office of the General Counsel, EOIR. During that time, from July 2006 to March 2008, he was acting general counsel. From 2000 to 2003, he worked as associate general counsel for the U.S. Marshals Service. From 1994 to 2000, Judge Chapman was in the U.S. Army where he served as staff judge advocate, deputy staff judge advocate, and litigation attorney. Judge Chapman is a member of the North Carolina Bar.
Salt Lake City Immigration Court
Dustin B. Pead, Immigration Judge
Judge Pead was appointed as an immigration judge in March 2008. He received a bachelor of arts degree in 1995 from the University of Utah and a juris doctorate in 1998 from the University of Miami School of Law. From 2003 to March 2008, Judge Pead served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Salt Lake City. From 2002 to 2003 and from 1999 to 2001, he worked as an attorney advisor at the BIA. From 2001 to 2002, Judge Pead served as immigration counsel, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate. From 1998 to 1999, he was a judicial law clerk at the Seattle Immigration Court. Judge Pead is a member of the Utah Bar.
San Francisco Immigration Court
Jeffrey J. Bernstein, Immigration Judge
Judge Bernstein was appointed as an immigration judge in March 2008. He received a bachelor of science degree in 1973 from Pennsylvania State University and a juris doctorate in 1976 from Duquesne University School of Law. From 1995 to March 2008, Judge Bernstein served as senior litigation counsel and trial attorney at the DOJ, Civil Division, Office of Immigration Litigation. From 1990 to 1995, he worked as a trial attorney in the Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, DOJ. From 1981 to 1990, Judge Bernstein was counsel for administrative litigation and legal advice, assistant counsel for administrative litigation and legal advice, and staff attorney at the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, Black Lung Benefits Division. From 1978 to 1981, he worked in private practice. From 1977 to 1978, Judge Bernstein was an attorney at Legal Services for Northwestern Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar.
Tacoma Immigration Court
Tammy L. Fitting, Immigration Judge
Judge Fitting was appointed as an immigration judge in March 2008. She received a bachelor of arts degree in 1986 from the University of Idaho and a juris doctorate in 1989 from the University of Idaho, College of Law. From 2003 to March 2008, Judge Fitting served as assistant chief counsel, ICE, DHS, in Seattle. From 1990 to 2003, Judge Fitting was an assistant district counsel with the former INS, after entering on duty through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. She is a member of the Washington and Idaho bars.
- EOIR -
EOIR, an agency within the Department of Justice, is responsible for adjudicating immigration cases. Specifically, under delegated authority from the Attorney General, EOIR interprets and administers 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 interpretation and application of immigration law in all cases.
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