Approval rates
When evaluating your hearing, it is helpful to look at how a judge's history compares to broader benchmarks. Judge Priester has issued 15,737 decisions over his 10-year tenure. His latest period approval rate of 58% is 13 points higher than the office average and 10 points higher than the national average. These aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than serving as predictions for your specific 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 Priester'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 decade on the bench, Judge Priester has seen his approval rates shift from 89% in 2016 to 61% in 2025. The data shows a period of steady activity, with 2,662 decisions recorded in 2025. While the latest period reflects a shift compared to his lifetime average, his decision-making remains consistent with his long-term career trajectory. These fluctuations often reflect changes in the complexity of cases or the quality of evidence presented.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Priester'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 Priester? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the West Des Moines hearing office
The West Des Moines hearing office serves you and other claimants across the region, managing a high volume of disability cases. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains a steady pace of hearings to address your needs. You can expect a professional environment focused on the specific medical and vocational facts of your claim. You can find more information on the West Des Moines Hearing Office page.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. At the West Des Moines hearing office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 38% to 70%. This variance highlights why focusing on your own medical evidence is the most effective way to prepare for your hearing.
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.