Approval rates
Comparing a judge's approval rate to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Rouf currently maintains a 48% approval rate, which is slightly below the Milwaukee office average of 50% and lower than the national average of 58%. These figures are derived from a substantial docket of 19,889 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 Rouf'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 judge's approval rate has shown periodic fluctuations while maintaining a generally steady pattern. Recent data shows a 48% approval rate in the latest reporting period. This consistency suggests a stable approach to case evaluation, which is typical for judges with such extensive experience on the bench.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Rouf'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 scheduled?
About the Milwaukee hearing office
The Milwaukee Hearing Office serves a broad population across Wisconsin, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate of 50%. You can expect a review process that prioritizes medical evidence and vocational testimony. You can see the Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 ALJs range from 27% to 52%. Because of this variance, it is common for you to research your assigned judge to understand the local judicial environment.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.