Approval rates
Judge Crisman has issued 5,473 lifetime decisions during her 3 years on the bench. Her latest approval rate of 50% tracks below the 58% national average and the 58% office average for the Valparaiso IN Hearing Office. These figures provide a baseline for understanding historical decision-making tendencies, though aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than 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 Crisman'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-year tenure, your judge has seen a shift in approval metrics. Starting at 57% in 2023, the rate moved to 54% in 2024 and reached 51% in 2025. This trend reflects a consistent approach to evaluating evidence as she has managed her caseload.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Crisman'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 Crisman? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Valparaiso IN hearing office
The Valparaiso IN Hearing Office serves you across the region, managing a high volume of cases with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 58%, reflecting the local standard for disability adjudications. You can expect a formal hearing process where your medical documentation and vocational evidence are scrutinized. You can visit the Valparaiso IN Hearing Office page for more information.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the Valparaiso IN Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 48% to 65%. While these variations exist, the core requirements for proving your disability remain consistent across all courtrooms.
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.