Approval rates
Judge Harper maintains a lifetime approval rate of 58% across her 10-year tenure. In the most recent reporting period, her approval rate was 51%, which is 4 percentage points below the Raleigh Hearing Office average of 62%. These figures are based on a docket of 21,842 lifetime decisions. Aggregate rates describe historical trends rather than outcomes for individual hearings.
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 Harper'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 her decade on the bench, Judge Harper has seen annual approval rates ranging from 47% in 2016 to 66% in 2023. Her decision pattern shows a period of relative stability between 2019 and 2022, followed by recent shifts. This variance is common in Social Security Disability Insurance hearings as case mixes and evidentiary standards evolve. The recent data reflects a change from her long-term average, which may be influenced by the types of claims currently before the court.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Harper'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 Harper? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Raleigh hearing office
The Raleigh Hearing Office serves claimants throughout North Carolina, managing a high volume of disability appeals. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains a latest approval rate of 62%, which is higher than the national average. You can expect a formal hearing process focused on your medical documentation and vocational testimony. Further details are available on the Raleigh Hearing Office page.
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 essentially random. Within the Raleigh Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 40% to 69%. Because each judge manages their courtroom differently, understanding the office-wide environment is helpful. You can find more information on the Raleigh 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.