Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Freedman maintains a lifetime approval rate of 41% based on 16,897 lifetime decisions. In the most recent reporting period, his approval rate reached 53%, which compares to the Albuquerque office average of 55% and the national average of 58%. These figures rely on a significant volume of cases, providing a stable view of his 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 Freedman'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 his 10 years on the bench, Robert Freedman has demonstrated a shifting approval pattern. While his lifetime average remains at 41%, his yearly trends show a rise in recent years, moving from lower approval percentages in 2018 and 2019 to 50% in 2025. This recent activity suggests a departure from his earlier decision-making phase. The latest period reflects a continuation of this upward trend, which may be influenced by changes in the types of cases or the quality of evidence presented in his courtroom.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Freedman'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 Freedman? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Albuquerque hearing office
The Albuquerque Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across New Mexico and parts of the surrounding region. It manages a high volume of cases with a bench of 6 judges, maintaining an office-wide latest approval rate of 55%. You can expect a standard administrative process focused on medical evidence and vocational testimony. You can see the Albuquerque 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 a specific judge is essentially random. Within the Albuquerque office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 41% to 61%. This variance highlights why understanding the general environment of your hearing office is useful. For preparation purposes, the guidance 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.