Approval rates
Comparing a judge's approval rate to the broader office and national averages provides context for your upcoming hearing. While the MT Pleasant MI office maintains a latest approval rate of 66%, Judge Anzalone’s recent performance sits at 58%, which is equal to the national latest approval rate. With a docket of 1,034 lifetime decisions, these figures offer a stable view of her historical decision-making. 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 Anzalone'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
Judge Anzalone has maintained a steady approval rate of 58% throughout her 1 year on the bench. This consistency across her 1,034 lifetime decisions suggests a predictable approach to evaluating your disability claim. While your hearing depends heavily on the specific medical evidence you present, her historical trend shows no significant volatility. This steady pattern provides a reliable baseline for understanding how she has approached cases during her tenure.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Anzalone'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 Anzalone? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Mt Pleasant MI hearing office
The MT Pleasant MI hearing office serves you and other claimants throughout the region, managing a high volume of Social Security Disability Insurance cases. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate of 66%. You can expect a formal administrative process focused on the medical and vocational evidence supporting your claim. You can visit the MT Pleasant MI Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the MT Pleasant MI office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges on the bench range from 55% to 63%. Because each judge brings a unique perspective to the courtroom, understanding the office-wide environment is helpful. For your preparation, the guidance 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.