Approval rates
Judge Marcee maintains a lifetime approval rate of 52%, calculated from a total of 2,546 lifetime decisions. In the most recent reporting period, his approval rate reached 56%, aligning with the 52% average seen across the Long Beach office. While this is 6 percentage points below the national average, it reflects a significant volume of cases handled over his 3 years on the bench. 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 Marcee'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 3 years on the bench, Judge Marcee has seen his approval rate trend upward. Starting at 40% in 2023, the rate rose to 46% in 2024 and reached 55% in 2025. This steady increase suggests a shift in his recent decision-making patterns compared to his early tenure. The latest period's 56% approval rate indicates that this upward trajectory has continued, potentially reflecting changes in the types of cases or the quality of evidence presented in his courtroom.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Marcee'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 Marcee? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Long Beach hearing office
The Long Beach Hearing Office serves a large population in California, managing a high volume of disability claims. With 6 judges currently on the bench, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate of 52%. You can expect a rigorous review process where medical documentation and vocational evidence are critical to your outcome. You can see the Long Beach 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 you cannot choose your judge. Within the Long Beach office, the bench includes 6 judges whose lifetime approval rates range from 29% to 72%. This variance highlights why the specific judge assigned to your case is only one factor in your overall hearing experience. For preparation purposes, the guidance remains consistent regardless of which judge is assigned to your case.
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.