Approval rates
Judge Harris maintains a lifetime approval rate of 79%, which stands in contrast to the Oklahoma City Hearing Office latest rate of 73% and the national average of 58%. With over a decade of experience and 23,464 lifetime decisions, the data provides a robust look at his historical decision-making tendencies. 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 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
Over your 10 years on the bench, Judge Harris has maintained a consistent pattern of approvals. His yearly trend shows stability, with recent performance in the latest reporting period reaching an 86% approval rate. This latest figure represents a slight uptick compared to his long-term average, reflecting a continuation of his established approach to evaluating disability claims. This pattern suggests a judge who remains steady in his assessment of evidence over time.
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.
Hearing with Judge Harris? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Oklahoma City hearing office
The Oklahoma City Hearing Office serves you across the region, managing a high volume of cases with a team of 6 ALJs. The office currently reports an approval rate of 73%, which is higher than the state average of 67%. You can expect a professional environment focused on the thorough review of medical and vocational evidence. You can see the Oklahoma City Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases through a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the Oklahoma City Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 43% to 79%. Because of this variance, understanding the bench as a whole is important. For preparation purposes, the guidance 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.