Approval rates
Judge Sammer maintains a lifetime approval rate of 63%, which provides a significant baseline when compared to the Minneapolis Hearing Office latest approval rate of 54%. During the most recent reporting period, her 57% approval rate remained 3 points lower than the national average of 58%. With 5,692 lifetime decisions, the data offers a stable look at her judicial history. 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 Sammer'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 her 3 years on the bench, Judge Sammer has presided over 5,692 lifetime decisions. Her yearly approval trend shows a shift, moving from 68% in 2023 to 64% in 2024, and 59% in 2025. This trend reflects a change in the cases assigned to her docket. The latest period reflects a continuation of this pattern as she aligns more closely with the broader office environment.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Sammer'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 Sammer? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Minneapolis hearing office
The Minneapolis Hearing Office serves a broad population across Minnesota, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an average approval rate of 54% as of the latest reporting period. You can expect a review process that prioritizes your medical documentation and vocational testimony. See the Minneapolis Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases to judges using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning you cannot choose your judge. Within the Minneapolis Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 47% to 67%. This variance highlights why understanding the local bench is useful, even though your specific assignment is random. For preparation purposes, the guidance is the same regardless of which judge you are assigned.
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.