Approval rates
Judge Dabreu's approval rate is notably higher than the Atlanta North Hearing Office average of 49% and the national average of 58%. With a career spanning 4 years on the bench, the data reflects a consistent history of decision-making across 1,205 lifetime decisions. These comparisons help contextualize your hearing, though aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than 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 Dabreu'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
The approval trend for Judge Dabreu shows a rise from 43% in 2016 to 80% in 2018, before stabilizing at 76% in 2019. This trajectory indicates a period of adjustment followed by a sustained pattern of higher-than-average approvals. The latest period reflects a continuation of this steady pattern, suggesting that the judge's approach to evidence and testimony has remained consistent over the most recent years of their tenure.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Dabreu'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 Dabreu? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Atlanta North hearing office
The Atlanta North Hearing Office serves a large population of applicants across Georgia, managing a high volume of cases with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently reports an average approval rate of 49%, which is lower than the state and national averages. You can visit the Atlanta North 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 Atlanta North Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench vary significantly, ranging from 22% to 75%. Because of this variance, understanding the local bench is helpful, though the guidance for your preparation remains consistent regardless of which judge you are assigned.
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.