Approval rates
Judge Gunn has issued 12,580 lifetime decisions over a 10-year tenure. In the most recent reporting period, the judge recorded an approval rate of 55%, which is 7 percentage points lower than the Los Angeles Downtown office average of 62%. These figures provide a statistical baseline for the judge's courtroom activity. 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 Gunn'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 the past decade, your judge's approval rate has fluctuated within a moderate range. While the rate reached 61% in 2018, recent years have seen the approval percentage stabilize near the lifetime average of 55%. This pattern suggests a consistent approach to evaluating evidence and medical documentation. The latest period reflects a continuation of this steady pattern, indicating that the judge applies a stable standard to the cases presented.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Gunn'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 Gunn? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Los Angeles Downtown hearing office
The Los Angeles Downtown Hearing Office serves a large population in California, managing a significant volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an average approval rate of 62% in the latest reporting period. You can expect a high-volume environment where thorough documentation is essential for a successful hearing. You can view the full ALJ roster on the Los Angeles Downtown Hearing Office page.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your specific judge is selected randomly. Within the Los Angeles Downtown office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 36% to 76%. This variance highlights why it is important to focus on the strength of your own medical evidence regardless of the judge assigned. You can find more information on the office's overall performance on the hearing office page.
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.