Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your hearing. Judge Cabotaje's 64% lifetime approval rate is measured against the latest office, state, and national averages to help you understand the local landscape. With 14,425 lifetime decisions, this data offers a look at his history on the bench. These 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 Cabotaje'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 9 years on the bench, Judge Cabotaje has seen his approval rates evolve. Starting at 49% in 2017, the trend line shows an upward trajectory, peaking at 77% in 2023 before settling into the current 69% range. This shift reflects his approach to evaluating evidence over time. The latest period remains higher than the broader office average of 62%.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Cabotaje'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 Cabotaje? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the San Rafael hearing office
The San Rafael Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across the region, managing a volume of disability cases with a team of administrative law judges. The office currently maintains a 62% latest approval rate. You can expect a hearing process focused on the specific medical documentation you provide. Please see the San Rafael Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your judge is typically chosen at random. At the San Rafael Hearing Office, the bench features a range of approval rates, spanning from 47% to 79% across the office's 6 judges. Because you cannot choose your judge, focus on the strength of your medical evidence. You can find more information on the San Rafael 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.