Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your hearing. Judge Linehan’s lifetime approval rate of 54% is measured against the Oklahoma City Hearing Office latest rate of 73% and the national average of 58%. These figures are derived from a substantial docket of 20,973 lifetime decisions, offering a stable view of his historical approach. 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 Linehan'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 8-year tenure, your judge's approval rate has shown a notable upward trend. While your judge's early years on the bench saw approval rates hovering in the 46% to 50% range, recent data indicates a shift, with approval rates reaching 77% in 2023. This trajectory suggests that the judge's recent decision-making process has become more favorable compared to earlier career averages. This shift may reflect changes in the complexity of cases or the quality of evidence presented in recent years.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Linehan'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 Linehan? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Oklahoma City hearing office
The Oklahoma City Hearing Office serves a broad population across Oklahoma, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an active docket and a latest approval rate of 73%. You can expect a professional environment focused on the rigorous evaluation of medical and vocational evidence. You can visit the Oklahoma City 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 your assignment is essentially random. The bench at the Oklahoma City Hearing Office is diverse, with lifetime approval rates for individual judges ranging from 43% to 79%. Because you cannot choose your judge, it is important to focus on the strength of your medical evidence. For preparation purposes, the guidance is the same 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.