Approval rates
Comparing a judge's history to broader benchmarks helps you understand the landscape of your hearing. Judge Reeves currently holds a rate 3 percentage points higher than the Brooklyn Hearing Office average and 16 points above the national average. These statistics are derived from 9,267 lifetime decisions. 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 Reeves'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 7-year tenure, your judge's approval rate has shown shifts, moving from 81% in 2016 to 88% in 2022. After a period of lower approval rates between 2018 and 2020, the trend has seen an upward trajectory. These fluctuations often reflect changes in the complexity of cases or the quality of medical evidence presented. The recent data suggests a return to higher allowance levels compared to the judge's mid-career period.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Reeves'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 Reeves? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Brooklyn hearing office
The Brooklyn Hearing Office serves a large population of applicants across New York, managing a high volume of disability hearings. With a bench of 3 judges, the office maintains a consistent approach to evaluating Social Security Disability Insurance claims. You can expect a professional environment focused on the thorough review of medical records and vocational testimony. You can visit the Brooklyn Hearing Office page for more information.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment is essentially random. Within the Brooklyn Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 66% to 78%. Because you cannot choose your judge, it is important to focus on the strength of your medical documentation. You can view the full roster of judges at the Brooklyn 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.