Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime performance against recent office and national benchmarks provides a clearer picture of their typical decision-making environment. While the national average approval rate currently sits at 58%, Judge Grey's recent performance shows a 53% approval rate. With a docket spanning 15,233 lifetime decisions, these figures offer a look at his history on the bench. These aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than predicting outcomes for your specific 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 Grey'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 9-year tenure, Judge Grey's approval rates have shifted, moving from 51% in 2018 to 38% in 2022 before trending upward. His most recent reporting period shows a 53% approval rate, indicating a return to higher approval levels compared to his mid-career dip. This recent uptick reflects a departure from the lower approval rates observed during the 2021-2022 period.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Grey'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 Grey? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Minneapolis hearing office
The Minneapolis Hearing Office serves you across Minnesota, managing a high volume of cases with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 54%, which aligns with broader state trends. You can expect a standard administrative process focused on medical evidence and vocational testimony. You can visit the Minneapolis 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. Within the Minneapolis Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 46% to 67%. While these variances exist, the fundamental requirements for proving disability remain consistent across all courtrooms. You can review the Minneapolis Hearing Office page for more information on the local bench.
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.