Approval rates
Evaluating your hearing prospects requires looking at the data behind the bench. Judge Kuperstein has maintained a 47% lifetime approval rate over a decade of service. While his latest period shows a 50% approval rate, this remains 11 points below the national average of 58%. 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 Kuperstein'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, the approval pattern for Judge Kuperstein has shown fluctuations. After starting with a 55% approval rate in 2016, the data reflects a period of adjustment, including a low of 32% in 2021. Recent years have seen a return toward the lifetime average, with the 2025 reporting period reaching 52%. This trend suggests a return to historical norms after a volatile mid-tenure period.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Kuperstein'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 scheduled?
About the New Haven hearing office
The New Haven Hearing Office serves you across Connecticut, managing a volume of disability appeals. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 52%, reflecting regional trends in SSDI adjudication. You should expect a review of your medical documentation and vocational evidence. You can view the full ALJ roster on the New Haven Hearing Office page.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning you cannot choose your judge. At the New Haven Hearing Office, the bench consists of 6 judges with lifetime approval rates ranging from 37% to 57%. This variance highlights why the specific judge assigned to your case matters. You can find more information on the New Haven Hearing Office page.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.