Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Mauer maintains a lifetime approval rate of 57%, which aligns closely with the 58% national average and the 58% office-wide rate in Tacoma. These figures are derived from a significant volume of 9,553 lifetime decisions, offering a stable view of her 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 Mauer'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 her 5 years on the bench, Judge Mauer has demonstrated a consistent approach to disability claims. Her approval rate has remained steady, moving from 56% in 2016 to 58% by 2020. This trend suggests a reliable decision-making pattern that has not seen significant volatility during her tenure. The latest period reflects a continuation of this steady pattern, providing predictability for your appearance before her.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Mauer'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 Mauer? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Tacoma hearing office
The Tacoma Hearing Office serves a broad population across Washington, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an average approval rate of 58%. You can expect a professional environment focused on the rigorous evaluation of medical and vocational evidence. You can visit the Tacoma 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 Judge Mauer is essentially random. Within the Tacoma Hearing Office, individual judges show a wide variance in approval rates, ranging from 31% to 72% across the bench. This disparity highlights why understanding the local judicial environment is important. You can review the full office roster to see how the bench is structured.
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.