Approval rates
Judge Read maintains a lifetime approval rate of 51% based on 21,265 decisions. In the most recent reporting period, your judge's approval rate was 46%, which is 1 percentage point below the Lansing office average and 7 percentage points below the national average. These figures are derived from a significant volume of cases, providing a stable look at his decision-making history. 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 Read'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 his 10 years on the bench, Judge Read has demonstrated a steady approach to disability claims. While his approval rate saw a peak in 2023 at 60%, data from 2024 and 2025 shows a return to the 48% to 49% range. This pattern suggests that his current decision-making is consistent with his long-term career average. The recent period reflects a continuation of this steady pattern, indicating that your case outcome remains heavily dependent on the specific medical evidence you provide.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Read'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 Read? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Lansing hearing office
The Lansing Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across Michigan, managing a high volume of disability cases. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 52%, reflecting the broader regional trends in disability adjudication. You can expect a formal process focused on your medical documentation and vocational testimony. You can visit the Lansing 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 the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the Lansing Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 36% to 66%. This variance highlights why understanding the general expectations of the office is vital regardless of your specific assignment. You can find more information on the Lansing 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.