Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your hearing. While the national average approval rate currently sits at 58%, Judge Johnson has maintained a lifetime rate of 62% over his 9-year tenure. In the most recent reporting period, his approval rate reached 72%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the national average but 6 points below the local office average. 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 Johnson'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 9 years on the bench, Judge Johnson has presided over 17,431 decisions, showing a clear evolution in his approval patterns. After a period of lower approval rates between 2019 and 2021, the data shows a consistent upward trend starting in 2022. The most recent years indicate a more favorable environment for you compared to his earlier career decisions. This shift suggests that the judge's recent approach reflects a steady pattern of evaluation that has stabilized at a higher rate than his historical average.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Johnson'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 Johnson? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Portland OR hearing office
The Portland OR Hearing Office serves a large population of claimants across the state of Oregon. With a bench of 6 judges, the office manages a significant volume of cases, maintaining an office-wide latest approval rate of 68%. If you are appearing here, you should be prepared for a thorough review of your medical documentation and vocational history. You can visit the Portland OR Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases to judges using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning the assignment process is essentially random. Within the Portland OR Hearing Office, the office's 6 ALJs range from 49% to 76% in their lifetime approval rates. While you cannot choose your judge, knowing that your case will be heard by one of the 6 judges at this office helps you prepare for the local standard of evidence. The guidance for your preparation 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.