Approval rates
Judge Kelsey maintains a lifetime approval rate of 55% based on 16,084 decisions. In the most recent reporting period, your approval rate was 52%, compared to the San Jose office average of 58% and the national average of 58%. These figures provide a statistical look at your decade-long career on the bench.
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 Kelsey'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 Kelsey has presided over a significant volume of cases. Yearly approval trends have remained relatively steady, moving between 50% and 60% throughout your career. This pattern suggests a stable approach to evaluating disability claims, where the quality of medical evidence remains the primary driver of the final outcome.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Kelsey'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 Kelsey? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Check My BenefitsAbout the San Jose hearing office
The San Jose Hearing Office serves a large population in California, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an average approval rate of 58% in the latest reporting period. You can expect a professional environment focused on the thorough review of medical and vocational evidence. You can see the San Jose 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 San Jose office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 48% to 78%. This variance highlights why understanding the general environment of your hearing office is useful.
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.