Approval rates
When evaluating your claim, it is helpful to look at how a judge's approval rate compares to broader benchmarks. Judge Mazzi maintains a lifetime approval rate of 75%, which stands in contrast to the 65% office average and the 58% national average. These figures are derived from a substantial docket of 13,138 lifetime decisions, providing a stable view of his historical decision-making. These aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than predicting the outcome of your specific 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 Mazzi'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 7 years on the bench, Judge Mazzi has presided over 13,138 lifetime decisions. While his early years saw higher approval rates, recent data indicates a move toward the office mean. This evolution in his decision pattern may reflect changes in case complexity or the specific evidence presented in recent years. Understanding this trajectory helps you prepare a case that directly addresses the evidentiary standards he prioritizes.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Mazzi'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.
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Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Oakland hearing office
The Oakland Hearing Office serves a large population in California, managing a high volume of cases with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently reports an approval rate of 65%, reflecting the diverse nature of claims processed in this region. You can expect a formal hearing process where medical documentation and vocational testimony are central to the outcome. You can see the Oakland Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases through a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning the assignment of a judge is essentially random. Within the Oakland Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 47% to 75%. Because of this variance, it is important to focus on the strength of your medical evidence regardless of which judge is assigned. You can review the office-wide trends to understand the broader environment of your hearing.
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.