Approval rates
Evaluating a judge's history requires looking at the broader context of their career. Over 10 years, Judge Deans has presided over 22,664 lifetime decisions. While her latest approval rate of 51% trails the national average of 58%, it is essential to view these numbers as historical trends rather than fixed outcomes. 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 Deans'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 career of Judge Deans shows a varied trend in approval rates over her 10-year tenure. After starting with a 43% approval rate in 2016, the data shows fluctuations, including a period of lower approval in 2020 and 2021, followed by a rise to 53% in 2025. This latest period reflects a departure from her lifetime average of 43%, suggesting a shift in case mix or evidentiary standards. Such patterns are common as judges adapt to evolving SSA guidelines.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Deans'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 Deans? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Kansas City hearing office
The Kansas City (Missouri) Hearing Office serves a broad region, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains a latest approval rate of 54%, which provides a baseline for the local area. You can expect a professional environment focused on the specific medical evidence presented in your file. You can visit the Kansas City (Missouri) Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The SSA assigns cases to judges using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment is essentially random. Within the Kansas City Hearing Office, approval rates among the 6 judges vary significantly, ranging from 28% to 61% over their respective careers. This variance highlights that the specific judge you draw can be a factor in your hearing process, though the preparation required for your case remains consistent.
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.