Approval rates
At the Orange Hearing Office, Judge Hopson's lifetime approval rate of 49% provides a baseline for understanding past trends. This figure is based on 16,943 lifetime decisions accumulated over 8 years on the bench. By comparison, the latest office-wide approval rate stands at 62%, while the national average is 58%. These aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than predicting the outcome of your specific 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 Hopson'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 her 8-year tenure, Judge Hopson has seen fluctuations in approval rates, beginning at 42% in 2016 and reaching a peak of 56% in 2018. Following this period, the rate saw a decline before stabilizing in recent years, with a 47% approval rate recorded in 2023. This pattern suggests that while there is variance year-over-year, the judge's decision-making has maintained a consistent range. The latest period reflects a continuation of this steady pattern.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Hopson'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 Hopson? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Orange hearing office
The Orange Hearing Office serves a large population in California, managing a high volume of cases with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently reports an approval rate of 62%, which is higher than the state average of 59%. You can expect a standard hearing process focused on your medical documentation and vocational testimony. You can see the Orange 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 the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the Orange Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 44% to 59%. This variation highlights why focusing on the strength of your medical evidence is more important than the specific judge assigned. You can find more information on the Orange 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.