Approval rates
Judge Reynolds maintains a lifetime approval rate of 50%, calculated from 17,984 lifetime decisions over a decade of service. In the most recent reporting period, your approval rate was 45%, which is 17 percentage points lower than the Miami OHO office average of 67%. These figures provide a statistical baseline for your hearing preparation. 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 Reynolds'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 10-year tenure, your approval rate has shown periodic fluctuations. After reaching a high of 57% in 2020, the rate adjusted in subsequent years, settling at 46% in 2025. This pattern reflects an evidence-focused approach to disability adjudication.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Reynolds'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 Reynolds? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Miami Oho hearing office
The Miami OHO serves a large population across Florida, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an office-wide approval rate that often exceeds national benchmarks. You can expect a professional environment where medical documentation is the primary driver of the decision-making process.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to Lornette Reynolds is essentially random. Across the Miami OHO, lifetime approval rates among the office's 6 ALJs range from 50% to 78%. Because you cannot choose your judge, focus on the strength of your medical evidence.
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.