Approval rates
Judge Gonzalez maintains a 68% lifetime approval rate, which compares favorably to the current national average of 58% and the White Plains office average of 67%. These figures are derived from 24,418 decisions made during his 10-year tenure. Comparing these rates provides context for how your case might be evaluated, though every claim is unique. Aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than predicting your specific hearing outcome.
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 Gonzalez'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, Judge Gonzalez has seen his approval rates evolve. After starting with a 49% approval rate in 2016 and 40% in 2017, his rates rose steadily starting in 2019 and have remained consistently high. The latest reporting period shows an approval rate of 78%, which aligns with this long-term upward trajectory. This pattern reflects a stable approach to evaluating evidence in recent years.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Gonzalez'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 Gonzalez? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Check My BenefitsAbout the White Plains hearing office
The White Plains Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across the region, managing a high volume of disability cases with a team of 6 administrative law judges. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 67%, reflecting the local landscape for SSDI hearings. You can expect a professional environment focused on the specific medical and vocational evidence presented in your file. You can visit the White Plains Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to Judge Gonzalez is essentially random. The bench at the White Plains office is diverse, with the 6 ALJs ranging from 50% to 74% in lifetime approval rates. Because of this variance, understanding the general environment of the office is helpful. The guidance for your preparation 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.