Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks helps you understand the context of your hearing. Judge Gaughen's 66% lifetime approval rate is measured against the latest office average of 66% and the national average of 58%. These figures are derived from 7,672 lifetime decisions, providing a robust sample size for your analysis. 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 Gaughen'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 6-year tenure, Judge Gaughen has presided over 7,672 lifetime decisions. The yearly trend shows an initial approval rate of 54% in 2016, which climbed to a peak of 72% in 2020 before adjusting to 61% in 2021. This pattern suggests a judge who has navigated varying caseloads while maintaining a stable overall approval profile. Recent data reflects a continuation of this established decision-making history.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Gaughen'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.
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. Across the Special Review Cadre bench, lifetime approval rates range from 32% to 66%. While these differences exist, the fundamental requirements for proving your disability remain consistent. You can find more information on the office's general operations on the hearing office page.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.