Approval rates
Judge Pico maintains a lifetime approval rate of 62% based on 15,785 decisions. In the most recent reporting period, your approval rate reached 72%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the national average of 58%. These figures provide a statistical view of his tenure over the last decade.
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 Pico'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 10 years on the bench, Judge Pico has demonstrated a varied approval trend. After an initial period of fluctuation, your recent decisions show a steady pattern of approval that remains consistent with your long-term career average. The latest period reflects a continuation of this stable approach, suggesting that your current decision-making process is well-established.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Pico'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 Pico? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the San Juan hearing office
The San Juan Hearing Office serves you throughout Puerto Rico, managing a high volume of disability cases. With 6 judges currently on the bench, the office maintains an environment where evidence-based advocacy is essential for a successful outcome. You can expect a formal hearing process focused on your medical documentation and vocational testimony.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases through a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Across the San Juan bench, lifetime approval rates for judges range from 43% to 83%. This variance highlights why understanding the specific tendencies of your assigned judge is a helpful part of your preparation.
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.