Approval rates
Judge Chau maintains a lifetime approval rate of 37% based on 4,598 decisions. In the most recent reporting period, your approval rate was 40%, which compares to an office-wide average of 53% and a national average of 58%. These figures represent a significant volume of cases, providing a stable look at her decision history. 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 Chau'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 3 years on the bench, Judge Chau has seen her approval rate shift from 41% in 2023 to 36% in 2025. This trend reflects a steady pattern of decision-making that has remained consistent throughout her tenure. While the latest period shows a slight variation, it remains within the established range of her career-long performance. This consistency helps in understanding the general approach taken at this hearing office.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Chau'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 Chau? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Moreno Valley hearing office
The Moreno Valley Hearing Office serves a large population in California, managing a high volume of disability claims with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 53%, reflecting the regional trends in SSDI adjudication. You should be prepared for a rigorous review of medical evidence and vocational testimony. You can see the Moreno Valley Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases through a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the Moreno Valley office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 37% to 60%. Because of this variance, understanding the broader office environment is as important as looking at any single judge. You can review the office-wide trends to better understand the local adjudication environment.
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.