Approval rates
Comparing approval rates requires looking at the same time period to ensure a fair assessment. Over the 12 months to July 31, 2026, Michael L. Harris's 89% approval rate sits above the 72% office average, 68% state average, and 58% national average. These figures are derived from a docket of 418 decisions during this window. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for your individual hearing.
SSA publishes no office- or national-level breakdown of fully favorable and denial rates. The 12 months are SSA's figures for this fiscal year to date plus the rest of the previous fiscal year; how we calculate them.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Harris'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
Since 2016, Michael L. Harris has issued 4,095 decisions on record. The yearly trend shows a high rate of approval that has remained consistent over the last decade. While the approval rate was 74% in 2016, it has trended upward in recent years, reaching 88% in the partial 2026 fiscal year. The most recent 12 months sit above the 80% average recorded since 2016.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Harris'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.
About the Oklahoma City hearing office
Michael L. Harris's most recent office on record is the Oklahoma City Hearing Office, which serves you across Oklahoma. This office maintains a bench of 17 judges, 11 of whom decided cases in the most recent SSA file dated July 2026. The office recorded a 72% approval rate over the 12 months to July 31, 2026.
Other judges whose most recent office on record is Oklahoma City
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Among the 11 judges who decided cases here in SSA's latest file, approval rates range from 53% to 89% over the 12 months to July 31, 2026. There are 17 judges whose most recent office on record is this one, and 11 of them decided cases here in SSA's latest file.
Judges with similar approval rates
These active judges' approval rates over the same 12 months (July 26, 2025 – July 31, 2026) are closest to Judge Harris's 89%. Two of them last decided cases in Oklahoma. With too few close matches there, the rest come from SSA's Dallas region.
- 88% Approval rate, last 12 months David W. Engel
- 86% Approval rate, last 12 months Jodi B. Levine
- 88% Approval rate, last 12 months Joseph Liken
- 87% Approval rate, last 12 months Peter F. Gazda
- 86% Approval rate, last 12 months Helen F. Strong
Rates within 5 points of each other are hard to tell apart at a typical caseload, so treat these as judges with comparable records, not a ranking. See Judge Harris and the three closest side by side →
Approval rates change with a lawyer
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.
Frequently asked questions
Over the 12 months to July 31, 2026, Michael L. Harris approved 89% of cases, which is at the top of the 53% to 89% range seen among the 11 judges active at the Oklahoma City office during that same period. An attorney can help you understand how these local trends might relate to your specific hearing.
Michael L. Harris has maintained a high approval rate since 2016, with an 80% average across 4,095 total decisions. While the rate fluctuates annually, the most recent 12-month figure of 89% is higher than the long-term average. An attorney can help you prepare for your hearing regardless of these historical shifts.
No, you cannot request a specific judge for your SSDI hearing. The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a random workload-balancing algorithm to ensure efficiency. An attorney can help you prepare for the hearing process regardless of which judge is assigned to your case.
Approval rates are statistical summaries of past decisions and do not predict the outcome of your specific hearing. Your case's success depends primarily on the medical evidence and documentation you provide. An attorney can help you ensure your evidence is organized and presented effectively for your hearing.
