Approval rates
Judge Pierce maintains a lifetime approval rate of 61% across 11,457 lifetime decisions. In the most recent reporting period, her 54% approval rate outperformed the office average by 11 percentage points and the national average by 3 percentage points. These figures provide a statistical baseline for her courtroom approach. 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 Pierce'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 her 10 years on the bench, your judge has shown a varied yearly trend in approval rates. While her career began with steady approval levels near 60%, recent years have seen fluctuations, including a shift in 2023 followed by a return toward her historical average in 2025. This pattern reflects the complex nature of disability adjudication. The recent data suggests a stabilization in her decision-making process after a period of volatility.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Pierce'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 Pierce? A free benefit check tells you if you qualify.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Nhc Albuquerque hearing office
The NHC Albuquerque Hearing Office serves you throughout New Mexico and the surrounding region. With a bench of 6 judges, this office manages a high volume of disability hearings annually. The office currently maintains an average approval rate of 50%. You can see the NHC Albuquerque Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Across the NHC Albuquerque bench, lifetime approval rates for judges range from 41% to 61%. Because each judge has a unique approach to evidence, understanding the office-wide landscape is helpful. You can find more information on the NHC Albuquerque 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.