Approval rates
Judge Barletta maintains a lifetime approval rate of 49%, which provides a stable baseline for understanding his approach to your disability claim. In the most recent reporting period, his 49% approval rate tracks 3 points above the Wilkes Barre office average of 46%, though it remains lower than the state and national benchmarks. These figures are derived from a significant volume of 23,204 lifetime decisions. 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 Barletta'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 his 10 years on the bench, Judge Barletta has demonstrated a consistent decision-making pattern. While your approval rates saw a temporary decline between 2020 and 2021, the trend has recovered, with recent years showing a return to the 51% range. This stability suggests a judge who relies on established evidentiary standards. The latest period reflects a continuation of this steady pattern, indicating that the judge's approach to your case evaluation has remained reliable over the last decade.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Barletta'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 scheduled?
About the Wilkes Barre hearing office
The Wilkes Barre Hearing Office serves a large population across Pennsylvania, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office operates under the standard SSA procedures for administrative hearings. You can expect a formal environment where your medical documentation and vocational testimony are prioritized. You can see the Wilkes Barre Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases to judges using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment is essentially random. Within the Wilkes Barre office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 29% to 59%. This variance highlights why it is important to focus on the strength of your medical evidence regardless of which judge is assigned to your hearing. You can find more information on the Wilkes Barre Hearing Office page.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.