Approval rates
When evaluating your claim, it is helpful to look at how Judge Gauthier's approval rate compares to broader benchmarks. While the national average approval rate currently stands at 58%, Judge Gauthier’s recent reporting period shows a variance of 30 percentage points below that mark. These figures are derived from a substantial docket of 7,025 lifetime decisions, providing a clear view of historical trends. 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 Gauthier'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 four-year tenure, Judge Gauthier’s approval rate has shown a downward trend, moving from 33% in 2016 to 17% in the most recent reporting period. This shift reflects a consistent pattern in how evidence and case merits have been weighed during their time on the bench. While the lifetime average remains at 28%, the recent data indicates a departure from earlier years. Understanding this trajectory can help you and your legal representative focus on the specific medical documentation most likely to support your claim.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Gauthier'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 scheduled?
About the Milwaukee hearing office
The Milwaukee Hearing Office serves you and other claimants throughout Wisconsin, managing a high volume of cases with a dedicated team of administrative law judges. The office currently maintains an average approval rate of 50%, reflecting the diverse range of disability claims processed in the region. You can expect a formal hearing process where your medical records and vocational testimony are central to the outcome. You can see the Milwaukee 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 your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. At the Milwaukee Hearing Office, the bench consists of 6 judges whose lifetime approval rates range from 28% to 52%. Because you cannot choose your judge, it is important to focus on the strength of your medical evidence regardless of who presides over your hearing. For preparation purposes, the guidance remains consistent regardless of which judge you are assigned.
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.