Approval rates
Judge Heller maintains a lifetime approval rate of 59% based on 18,458 decisions. In the most recent reporting period, the approval rate was 59%, which is 4 percentage points below the current Tallahassee FL OHO office average of 63% and 1 percentage point above the national average of 58%. These figures provide a statistical baseline for the judge's tenure.
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 Heller'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 10 years on the bench, Judge Heller has maintained a consistent decision pattern. Yearly approval rates have fluctuated between a low of 55% in 2022 and a high of 61% in 2018, with the rate holding at 60% in 2024 and 2025. This stability suggests a consistent approach to evaluating evidence.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Heller'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 Heller? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Tallahassee Fl Oho hearing office
The Tallahassee FL OHO serves claimants across the Florida region. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 63%. You can expect a hearing process focused on the medical and vocational evidence presented in your file. You can visit the Tallahassee FL OHO Hearing Office page for more information on the office roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your judge is assigned randomly. Within the Tallahassee FL OHO, the office's 6 ALJs range from 51% to 76% in their lifetime approval rates. This variance highlights that the specific judge assigned to your case can influence the process, though the guidance for your preparation remains the same regardless of the assignment.
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.