Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your hearing. Judge Moser maintains a lifetime approval rate of 76%, which is 18 percentage points higher than the current national average of 58%. This data is drawn from a docket of 14,032 lifetime decisions accumulated over 6 years on the bench. 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 Moser'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 6-year tenure, Judge Moser has maintained a consistent approval pattern. Yearly data shows a high of 81% in 2020 and a steady baseline that remains above regional and national averages. With 14,032 lifetime decisions, the volume of cases processed suggests a stable approach to evaluating your disability claim. The recent data reflects a continuation of this steady pattern, indicating that the judge's methodology has remained reliable throughout their time on the bench.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Moser'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 Moser? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Los Angeles Downtown hearing office
The Los Angeles Downtown Hearing Office serves a large population in California, managing a high volume of disability claims. The office currently operates with a bench of 6 judges who handle a diverse range of medical and vocational evidence. With an office-wide latest approval rate of 62%, you may face a rigorous review process. You can visit the Los Angeles Downtown Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. At the Los Angeles Downtown Hearing Office, the bench includes 6 judges with lifetime approval rates ranging from 36% to 76%. Because of this variance, understanding the general landscape of your local office is helpful. For preparation purposes, the guidance remains the same regardless of which judge you are assigned.
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.