The Hartford Immigration Court has issued among the highest median bonds in the country this fiscal year, new data from Syracuse University show, but two lawyers said the numbers aren’t that cut and dried.

The university’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse found Hartford judges set a median bond of $15,000 from October through May. Only the court in Tacoma, Wash., issued the same.

Nationally, the median bond set during that time was $7,500.

"There are really two types of bond hearings — criminally detained, and non-criminally detained," immigration attorney Glenn Formica said. The latter "are people who may have old orders of removal, but no criminal history."

Some noncitizens in detention — typically ones with criminal records — aren't eligible for bond. Those who are eligible must make a motion for it.

Through May of this fiscal year, the data show, only 30.5 percent of noncitizens got a hearing and obtained bond.

Formica said Hartford handles a lot of bond hearings for the criminally detained, meaning the judge is less likely to be dealing with people who simply overstayed their visas.

"The issue really is what the sample is versus other immigration courts," said Formica, who works out of New Haven-based Formica Williams P.C.

Mike Doyle, head of New London's Immigration Advocacy and Support Center, said Hartford's median bond amounts also might seem high because the sample size isn't big enough. Other city courts in the top five considered at least 530 and as many as 3,320 cases. Hartford considered 103.

“That sample, I don’t think it’s sufficient to compare to the others without knowing what’s behind the data,” Doyle said. “The judges (in Hartford) are tough, but I haven’t heard that either has done anything outrageous in either direction.”

Doyle was referring to judges Michael W. Straus and Philip Verrillo. He said he hasn't dealt with a third judge, Daniel A. Morris, listed on the court's website.

In each bond hearing, a judge considers a person’s length of time and family ties in the country, employment history, criminal record and history of immigration violations when determining how high or whether to set bond.

"In cases where there's no criminal history, I've never had a high bond from Judge Straus ever, and I've appeared in front of him for 18-plus years," Formica said. "He's always at $2,500, maybe $3,500, depending."

In criminal cases, Formica said Straus either gives no bond or a higher bond, but "it's nothing that shocks my conscience."

He said he couldn't think of a particular criminal case from this fiscal year that might have skewed Hartford's median bond amount upward.

Straus "is very reasonable," said Formica, who has traveled to courts in Massachusetts, New York and Texas for work. "He has discretion. He's a fair guy. I see a lot of different judges, and I would not say that about a lot of them."

Formica said he hasn't appeared in front of any other Hartford judges for bond hearings.

He also said it's important to remember that immigration judges have to consider administrative law on top of common law, which is based on court precedent, and statutory law, which is based on legislation and statutes. Administrative law includes orders and guidelines issued by officials such as Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

l.boyle@theday.com