Approval rates
Judge Miller maintains a lifetime approval rate of 69% based on 5,508 decisions. During the most recent reporting period, this judge approved cases at a rate 13 percentage points higher than the Evanston office average and 11 percentage points above the national average of 58%. These figures provide a statistical look at past performance over a significant volume of cases. 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 Miller'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 a four-year tenure, Judge Miller has demonstrated a steady decision-making pattern. While the approval rate was 73% in 2016, it shifted to 64% by 2019. This trend shows a gradual adjustment over the course of 5,508 lifetime decisions. Such shifts are common and may reflect changes in the types of cases heard or the quality of evidence presented. The recent data suggests a stable approach to evaluating your disability claim within the current legal framework.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Miller'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 Miller? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Evanston hearing office
The Evanston Hearing Office serves claimants throughout the region, managing a high volume of SSDI cases with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently reports an average approval rate of 56%, which aligns with state trends. When you appear here, be prepared for a formal hearing process where your medical documentation and vocational testimony are central to the outcome. You can see the Evanston Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Evanston Hearing Office uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Approval rates across the office's 6 ALJs range from 46% to 76%, highlighting the importance of understanding the specific tendencies of the judge assigned to your case. Regardless of the statistical variance among the judges at this location, the core requirements for proving your disability remain the same.
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.