Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. While the St. Louis Hearing Office maintains a recent approval rate of 54%, Judge Luetkenhaus has recorded a 37% approval rate during the latest reporting period. These figures are derived from a substantial docket of 17,285 lifetime decisions, offering a stable view of his decision-making history. 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 Luetkenhaus'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 10 years on the bench, Judge Luetkenhaus has maintained a consistent approach to disability adjudication. His approval rates have remained steady, hovering between 30% and 38% for most of his tenure. The most recent data shows a 37% approval rate, which aligns closely with his long-term career average. This pattern suggests a stable judicial philosophy that prioritizes the specific documentation of your impairments.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Luetkenhaus'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 Luetkenhaus? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the St Louis hearing office
The St. Louis Hearing Office serves a large population across Missouri, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office processes cases with an office-wide latest approval rate of 54%. You should expect a professional environment focused on the rigorous application of disability regulations. You can see the St. Louis 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 assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the St. Louis Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 34% to 70%. Because of this variance, understanding the general environment of your hearing office is a standard part of case preparation. You can view the full roster of judges on the St. Louis 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.