Approval rates
Judge DE Leon’s approval rate is evaluated against the latest performance metrics for the Pittsburgh Hearing Office, the state of Pennsylvania, and the national average. With a lifetime approval rate of 75% across 7,780 decisions, this judge maintains a consistent statistical baseline. These figures reflect historical trends rather than specific outcomes for your upcoming 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 de Leon'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 a 5-year tenure, your judge's approval rate has shown a steady trajectory. Starting at 67% in 2016, the rate climbed to 79% by 2018 before stabilizing at 78% in the most recent reporting periods. This pattern reflects a consistent approach to evaluating evidence and medical documentation, remaining significantly higher than the local office average.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge de Leon'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 DE Leon? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Pittsburgh hearing office
The Pittsburgh Hearing Office serves a large population across Pennsylvania, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an average approval rate of 48% in the latest reporting period. You can expect a formal hearing process focused on your medical evidence and vocational testimony. You can visit the Pittsburgh Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the Pittsburgh Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 ALJs range from 28% to 75%. This variance highlights why understanding the local judicial environment is important for your hearing strategy.
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.