Approval rates
Judge Leventer has established a consistent record over 10 years on the bench, with a lifetime approval rate of 84%. In the most recent reporting period, the judge maintained a 92% approval rate, which is 6 percentage points higher than the Queens Hearing Office average and 26 percentage points above the national average. These statistics are derived from a substantial docket of 24,119 lifetime decisions. 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 Leventer'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 decade of service, Judge Leventer has demonstrated a generally high approval trend. While the rate dipped to 62% in 2020, the subsequent years show a marked recovery, with approval rates climbing to 94% in 2024 and 92% in 2025. This trajectory suggests a return to long-term patterns following the volatility of the 2020 period. The current data reflects a stable approach to evaluating your disability claim.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Leventer'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 Leventer? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Queens hearing office
The Queens Hearing Office serves a diverse population in New York, managing a high volume of SSDI claims. With 6 judges currently presiding, the office maintains a latest approval rate of 78%, which is significantly higher than both the state and national averages. You can expect a rigorous review process focused on your medical evidence and vocational capacity. You can see the Queens Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your specific judge is typically assigned at random. Within the Queens Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 64% to 84%. Because of this variance, understanding the office-wide environment is as important as looking at an individual judge's history. You can find more information on the office's overall performance on the 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.