Approval rates
Judge Morales maintains a lifetime approval rate of 43%, compared to the San Juan Hearing Office latest approval rate of 68%. This data is drawn from a docket of 20,997 lifetime decisions accumulated over a decade of service. These figures provide a statistical baseline for understanding the judge's history, though they do not guarantee a specific outcome for your hearing. 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 Morales'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 10-year tenure, your judge's approval rate has shown notable fluctuations. After an initial period of higher approvals in 2016, the rate stabilized in the 37% to 41% range between 2018 and 2022. Recent data indicates a shift, with approval rates reaching 51% in 2025. This recent uptick may reflect changes in case mix or evidence quality presented at the hearing level. The pattern suggests a judge who evaluates each case based on the specific medical documentation you provide.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Morales'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 Morales? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the San Juan hearing office
The San Juan Hearing Office serves claimants across Puerto Rico, managing a high volume of disability cases. With 6 judges currently on the bench, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate of 68%. You can expect a rigorous review process where your medical evidence and vocational testimony are central to the hearing. You can see the San Juan 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 your assignment to Judge Morales is essentially random. Within the San Juan Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 43% to 83%. This variance highlights why the specific judge assigned to your case is only one of many factors in your hearing. You can view the full office roster on the San Juan Hearing Office page.
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.