Approval rates
Comparing a judge's history against regional and national benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Gartner's recent approval rate of 72% sits 6 percentage points higher than the national average of 58% and 5 points above the Florida state average of 59%. With a significant docket of 12,488 lifetime decisions, these figures offer a stable view of the judge's past decision-making patterns. These statistics reflect historical trends rather than specific outcomes for your case.
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 Gartner'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 decade on the bench, Judge Gartner has shown a consistent approach to disability claims. While the approval rate saw a dip to 57% in 2020, recent years have shown an upward trend, with a 72% approval rate in the most recent reporting period. This latest performance reflects a shift toward higher approval levels compared to the lifetime average of 64%. These fluctuations often correlate with changes in the types of evidence presented or shifts in the specific mix of cases assigned to the courtroom.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Gartner'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 Gartner? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the St Petersburg FL hearing office
The St Petersburg FL hearing office serves a large population of claimants across the region. With a bench of 6 judges, the office manages a high volume of cases, maintaining a latest-period approval rate of 63%. You should be prepared for a thorough review of your medical documentation and vocational evidence. You can visit the St Petersburg FL 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 Judge Gartner is essentially random. Within the St Petersburg FL office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 38% to 65%. Because every judge operates with different preferences for evidence and testimony, understanding the local office environment is a standard part of your hearing preparation.
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.