Approval rates
Judge Hobbs has maintained a lifetime approval rate of 66% across a docket of 21,950 decisions. In the most recent reporting period, this rate reached 75%, which sits 8 percentage points above the national average of 58%. These figures provide a statistical look at the judge's history, though they do not serve as a prediction for your specific case. 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 Hobbs'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 10-year tenure, the approval pattern for Judge Hobbs has shifted. After initial years where approval rates hovered between 49% and 59%, the data shows a sustained increase beginning in 2020, with rates consistently remaining at or above 75%. This recent trend reflects a period of stability in decision-making. The latest period's 75% approval rate suggests a continuation of this established pattern.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Hobbs'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 Hobbs? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Eugene hearing office
The Eugene Hearing Office serves you throughout Oregon and the surrounding region. With a team of 6 administrative law judges, the office manages a high volume of disability hearings. The office-wide latest approval rate is 64%, which provides a baseline for the local judicial climate. You can visit the Eugene Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Eugene Hearing Office utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Across the office's bench of 6 judges, lifetime approval rates vary, ranging from 44% to 81%. Because each judge brings a unique perspective to the courtroom, understanding the office-wide environment is helpful. 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.