Approval rates
Comparing a judge's history to broader trends provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Reason maintains a lifetime approval rate of 44% across 18,588 lifetime decisions, which currently trails the Los Angeles West office average of 63% and the national average of 58%. These figures are derived from a decade of service, offering a stable view of her 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 Reason'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-year tenure, your judge has seen her approval rate fluctuate, showing a peak of 52% in 2016 and a low of 36% in 2022. Recent data from 2025 shows an approval rate of 43%, suggesting the trend has held relatively steady following the post-2022 period. While her latest-period approval rate of 40% remains below the office average, these patterns often shift based on the specific mix of cases and the quality of evidence you present. This history reflects a consistent approach to the evidentiary requirements of Social Security Disability Insurance claims.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Reason'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 Reason? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Los Angeles West hearing office
The Los Angeles West hearing office serves a large population in California and manages a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains a latest-period approval rate of 63%, which is higher than the current national average of 58%. You should expect a professional environment focused on the rigorous documentation of impairments. See the Los Angeles West Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases to judges using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment is essentially random. Within the Los Angeles West hearing office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 39% to 66%. Because you cannot choose your judge, it is important to focus on the strength of your own medical documentation. For preparation purposes, the guidance is the same regardless of which judge you are assigned.
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.