Approval rates
Judge Gontis has maintained a 48% lifetime approval rate over a docket of 10,638 decisions. In the latest reporting period, his 62% approval rate compares to the 55% office average, 53% state average, and 58% national average. These figures represent historical trends rather than 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 Gontis'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 10 years on the bench, your judge's approval rates have fluctuated. After an approval rate of 67% in 2016, the rate trended through 42% in 2018 and 40% in 2022, before reaching 63% in 2025. These variations reflect the changing nature of the cases heard and the evidence presented in your jurisdiction.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Gontis'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 Gontis? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Albuquerque hearing office
The Albuquerque Hearing Office manages disability appeals for claimants throughout New Mexico. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains a process where outcomes depend on the specific medical documentation you provide. You can visit the Albuquerque Hearing Office page for more information on the local roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is random. Within the Albuquerque Hearing Office, the 6 ALJs range from 41% to 61% in their lifetime approval rates. Because every judge has a unique approach to evaluating medical evidence, your preparation should be thorough regardless of who presides over your hearing.
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.