Approval rates
Judge Coburn maintains a lifetime approval rate of 34% based on 12,563 lifetime decisions. When compared to the most recent reporting period, her approval rate sits 18 percentage points below the Long Beach Hearing Office average and 24 points below the national average. These figures are derived from a significant volume of cases, providing a stable look at 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 Coburn'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 6 years on the bench, Judge Coburn has seen her approval rate fluctuate, showing a peak of 41% in 2020 before trending toward a lower rate in recent years. This pattern reflects a shift from the 2017 baseline of 33% to a more recent level of 24% in 2022. Such variations are common and often result from changes in the types of medical evidence presented or shifts in case complexity. The latest period reflects a continuation of this recent downward trend in approval frequency.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Coburn'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 Coburn? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Long Beach hearing office
The Long Beach Hearing Office serves a large population of claimants across Southern California, managing a high volume of disability appeals. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an average approval rate of 52%, which is a critical benchmark for your local case. If you are appearing here, be prepared for rigorous scrutiny of your medical documentation and vocational evidence. You can see the Long Beach Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment to Judge Coburn is essentially random. Within the Long Beach Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 29% to 72%. Because of this variance, understanding the general environment of the office is helpful for your preparation. You can find more information on the Long Beach 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.