Approval rates
Judge Heely's approval rate is calculated from 13,129 lifetime decisions. While his recent approval rate is 9 points higher than the current Stockton office average, it remains 5 points below the national average of 58%. These comparisons highlight how individual judicial patterns can diverge from broader trends.
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 Heely'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 a 4-year tenure, Judge Heely's approval rates have fluctuated between 50% and 58% annually. The most recent reporting period indicates a shift toward the higher end of this range, suggesting a consistent approach to evidence evaluation. This stability across 13,129 lifetime decisions provides a clear view of his judicial history.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Heely'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 Heely? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Stockton hearing office
The Stockton Hearing Office manages a high volume of SSDI claims. With 6 judges on the bench, the office maintains an average approval rate of 44% in the latest reporting period. You can expect a formal hearing environment where evidence documentation is critical to your outcome.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases through a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Across the Stockton bench, lifetime approval rates range from 30% to 83%, illustrating the significant variance in judicial decision-making. Regardless of which judge is assigned to your hearing, the core requirements for proving disability remain the same.
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.