Approval rates
Judge Reaves maintains a lifetime approval rate of 51%, which is 2 percentage points below the Johnstown office average and 7 points below the national average. These figures are derived from a docket of 5,887 lifetime decisions. Comparing these rates to regional and national benchmarks helps you understand the local judicial environment, though aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than predicting your individual hearing outcome.
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 Reaves'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 3-year tenure, Judge Reaves has presided over 5,887 decisions. The approval rate remained at 53% throughout 2023 and 2024 before adjusting to 49% in 2025. This recent shift reflects common fluctuations in hearing outcomes that occur as case mixes or evidentiary standards evolve. Understanding this trend is useful for setting expectations, as the latest period shows a consistent, measured approach to disability adjudication.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Reaves'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 Reaves? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Johnstown hearing office
The Johnstown Hearing Office serves you and other applicants across Pennsylvania, managing a high volume of cases with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 53%, reflecting regional standards for disability claims. You can expect a formal process focused on the specific medical documentation supporting your inability to work. You can visit the Johnstown 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. Within the Johnstown Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 32% to 81%. This variance highlights why focusing on the strength of your own medical evidence is the most effective strategy. You can find more information on the office's general operations on the Johnstown 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.