Approval rates
Comparing a judge's approval rate to broader averages helps set expectations for your upcoming hearing. Judge Rosa currently holds a 33% lifetime approval rate, measured against the latest Portland OR office average of 68% and the national average of 58%. These figures are derived from a docket of 13,075 lifetime decisions. Aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than predicting individual hearing outcomes.
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 Rosa'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 7 years on the bench, Judge Rosa has seen her approval rate shift, moving from 47% in 2016 to 28% in 2022. This trend indicates a period of adjustment in decision-making patterns following her early years of service. The data shows a decline in approval frequency between 2018 and 2019, followed by relative stability through the most recent reporting years. This pattern reflects a consistent approach to the evidence presented in the courtroom.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Rosa'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 Rosa? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Portland OR hearing office
The Portland OR Hearing Office serves you throughout Oregon, managing a high volume of disability cases with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently reports a 68% approval rate, reflecting the local environment for SSDI claims. When appearing here, you should be prepared for a rigorous review of your medical documentation and vocational history. You can visit the Portland OR Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the Portland OR office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 33% to 76%. This variance highlights why understanding the general expectations of the office is more important than focusing on any single peer judge. Guidance remains consistent regardless of which judge is assigned to your case.
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.