Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance requires looking at both lifetime averages and recent trends. While the national average approval rate currently sits at 58%, your judge's recent approval rate is 27%. This data is drawn from 19,061 lifetime decisions, providing a statistically significant view of her bench. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for your individual hearing.
Office- and national-level breakdowns of fully favorable vs denial rates aren't currently published by SSA in the per-office disposition data. The judge's own breakdown is the detail we have today.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Alonso's docket. Annual rates fluctuate with the mix of cases SSA assigns; the longer-run pattern is more informative than any single year.
Decision pattern
Over her 10 years on the bench, your judge has seen her approval rates shift. After initial years with higher approval rates in 2016 and 2017, the data shows a transition to a more conservative pattern starting in 2018. The most recent period shows an approval rate of 27%, which remains consistent with the lower range of her long-term trend. This pattern suggests a stable approach to evidence evaluation that has persisted for several years.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Alonso's bench. Judge-specific preparation guidance requires a corpus of public Appeals Council decisions involving each judge, which we haven't built yet.
- Bring a clean treating-physician record. Longitudinal primary-care or specialist notes spanning the disability period, with consistent symptom documentation, are typically the strongest evidence at hearing. A single month's records usually aren't enough.
- Don't rely on consultative exams alone. If your medical evidence is built primarily around a one-time CE finding, expect detailed questioning. Supplement with treating-source statements where possible.
- Prepare for daily-activity questions. Have honest, specific answers about a typical day. Answers that conflict with the medical record (in either direction) tend to hurt credibility.
- Expect transferable-skills probing. A vocational expert will usually testify about jobs available to someone with your limitations. Your representative should be prepared to cross-examine.
Hearing with Judge Alonso? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Ft Lauderdale hearing office
The Ft Lauderdale Hearing Office serves a large population across Florida, managing a high volume of disability claims. With 6 judges currently on the bench, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate of 48%. You should expect a rigorous review of your medical documentation and vocational history. You can see the Ft Lauderdale Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases to you using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment is essentially random. Within the Ft Lauderdale Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 26% to 68%. Because you cannot choose your judge, you must focus on the strength of your medical evidence. The guidance for your case remains consistent regardless of which judge you are assigned.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
SSDI hearing approval rates — represented vs. on your own
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.