Approval rates
Comparing a judge's history to broader trends provides useful context for your hearing. Judge Pharris maintains a lifetime approval rate of 47%, which currently tracks 7 percentage points below the Minneapolis office average and 11 points below the national average. These figures are derived from a substantial docket of 22,173 lifetime decisions, providing a clear statistical baseline. 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 Pharris'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, the approval rate for Judge Pharris has shown notable fluctuations. After an initial period of stability, the rate saw a decline between 2019 and 2022, followed by a recovery in 2023 and 2024. The latest reporting period shows a 49% approval rate, which aligns closely with the long-term lifetime average. This recent trend suggests a return to historical norms after a period of lower approval activity.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Pharris'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 Pharris? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Minneapolis hearing office
The Minneapolis Hearing Office serves you across Minnesota, managing a high volume of disability appeals. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an average approval rate of 54% in the latest reporting period. You can expect a formal hearing process focused on your medical evidence and vocational testimony. You can see the Minneapolis 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 you cannot choose your judge. Within the Minneapolis Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 46% to 67%. While these variations exist, the fundamental requirements for proving disability remain consistent regardless of the specific judge assigned to your case. You can find more information on the Minneapolis 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.