Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks helps provide context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Hein's lifetime approval rate of 78% is higher than the current national average of 58% and the Brooklyn office's latest average of 71%. These statistics are derived from a substantial docket of 6,399 lifetime decisions, offering a stable view of his historical decision-making. 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 Hein'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 his 4 years on the bench, Judge Hein has presided over 6,399 decisions. His yearly trend shows an 82% approval rate in 2016, 82% in 2017, 79% in 2018, and 70% in 2019. This trend reflects the evolution of his docket over time. You can review the Brooklyn Hearing Office page for more information on local trends.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Hein'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 Hein? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Brooklyn hearing office
The Brooklyn Hearing Office serves a large population of applicants throughout the region. With a bench of 3 judges, the office manages a high volume of cases to ensure timely access to hearings. The office currently maintains a latest approval rate of 71%, reflecting the local administrative environment. You can visit the Brooklyn Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
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 Brooklyn Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 3 judges range from 66% to 78%. While these variations exist, the fundamental requirements for proving disability remain consistent. You can find more information on the Brooklyn 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.