Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance requires looking at both their long-term history and recent activity. Judge Skarda has issued 22,934 lifetime decisions. While their lifetime approval rate stands at 56%, their most recent reporting period shows an approval rate of 64%, which is 12 points higher than the current Stockton Hearing Office average of 44%.
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 Skarda'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 decade on the bench, Judge Skarda has shown a clear evolution in their decision-making. After a period of lower approval rates between 2017 and 2019, the trend has shifted upward significantly in recent years, reaching 68% in 2025. This recent activity indicates a more favorable environment for your claim than in previous years.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Skarda'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 Skarda? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Stockton hearing office
The Stockton Hearing Office manages a high volume of disability cases. As part of a regional network, this office handles a diverse caseload that requires careful documentation of medical and vocational evidence. The office-wide latest approval rate is 44%, which provides a baseline for the local judicial environment.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the Stockton Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench vary significantly, ranging from 30% to 83%. Understanding the general environment of the office is as important as knowing your specific judge.
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.