Approval rates
Over the 12 months to July 31, 2026, Aubri G. Masterson's 91% approval rate sits above the 69% office average, 60% state average, and 58% national average. The record since 2016 includes 3,572 decisions. These figures reflect past activity rather than a prediction for your specific hearing.
SSA publishes no office- or national-level breakdown of fully favorable and denial rates. The 12 months are SSA's figures for this fiscal year to date plus the rest of the previous fiscal year; how we calculate them.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Masterson'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
Since 2016, Aubri G. Masterson has issued 3,572 decisions. The yearly trend shows an approval rate that has remained high, with the most recent 12 months sitting above the 82% approval rate recorded since 2016. The data reflects a consistent volume of activity.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Masterson'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.
About the Santa Barbara hearing office
The Santa Barbara office is the most recent office on record for Aubri G. Masterson, as of July 2026. The office's bench consists of 7 judges whose most recent office on record is this location. Over the 12 months to July 31, 2026, the office maintained a 69% approval rate.
Other judges whose most recent office on record is Santa Barbara
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Among the 3 judges who decided cases here in SSA's latest file, approval rates range from 48% to 91% over the 12-month window. There are 7 judges whose most recent office on record is this one, with 3 of them deciding cases here in SSA's latest file.
Judges with similar approval rates
These active judges' approval rates over the same 12 months (July 26, 2025 – July 31, 2026) are closest to Judge Masterson's 91%. One of them last decided cases in California. With too few close matches there, the rest come from other regions.
- 87% Approval rate, last 12 months Michelle Thompson
- 91% Approval rate, last 12 months Mark Naggi
- 92% Approval rate, last 12 months Paul F. Kelly
- 89% Approval rate, last 12 months Brent T. Asseff
- 89% Approval rate, last 12 months Michael L. Harris
Rates within 5 points of each other are hard to tell apart at a typical caseload, so treat these as judges with comparable records, not a ranking. See Judge Masterson and the three closest side by side →
Approval rates change 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.
Frequently asked questions
Over the 12 months to July 31, 2026, Aubri G. Masterson's 91% approval rate is at the top of the range for the 3 judges who decided cases at the Santa Barbara office in SSA's latest file, which spans from 48% to 91%. An attorney can help you prepare for the specific tendencies of the judge assigned to your hearing.
Aubri G. Masterson has an 82% approval rate across 3,572 decisions on record since 2016. The rate over the 12 months to July 31, 2026, is 91%, which sits above the long-term average. An attorney can help you understand how these trends might relate to your specific case.
No, you cannot request a specific judge. The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a workload-balancing algorithm to ensure efficiency. An attorney can help you prepare your case regardless of which judge is assigned to your hearing.
Approval rates are statistical summaries of past decisions and do not predict the outcome of any individual hearing. Your success depends primarily on the medical evidence and documentation you provide. An attorney can help you ensure your evidence is as strong as possible before your hearing.
