Approval rates
When evaluating your hearing prospects, it is helpful to look at how Judge Boyce compares to broader benchmarks. Her lifetime approval rate of 42% is measured against 9,458 lifetime decisions, providing a substantial data set for review. This rate is currently 16 percentage points lower than the national latest approval rate of 58%. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for individual hearings.
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 Boyce'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 5 years on the bench, Judge Boyce has seen her approval rates fluctuate, starting at 42% in 2016 and reaching 49% by 2020. This trend shows a general upward trajectory in approvals following a dip in 2017. Such shifts often reflect changes in the complexity of cases or the quality of medical evidence presented during those specific years. You can review the Anchorage Hearing Office page for more context on local trends.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Boyce'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 Boyce? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Anchorage hearing office
The Anchorage Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across Alaska and the surrounding region. This office manages a high volume of cases, and the judges here must balance significant caseloads while adhering to strict federal guidelines. You can expect a formal hearing process focused on medical documentation and vocational testimony. You can see the Anchorage 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. Because approval rates vary across the bench, the specific judge you draw can be a factor in your hearing experience. Regardless of the judge assigned to your case, the core requirements for proving your disability remain consistent. You can view the full range of approval rates for the office's ALJs on the Anchorage Hearing Office page.
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.