Approval rates
Comparing a judge's history to broader benchmarks provides context for what to expect during your hearing. Judge Staples maintains a lifetime approval rate of 44%, which currently trails the Kansas City (Missouri) office average of 54% and the national average of 58%. This data is drawn from a significant docket of 15,501 lifetime decisions accumulated over 7 years on the bench. 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 Staples'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 his 7-year tenure, Judge Staples has seen his approval rates move through several phases. After an initial approval rate of 39% in 2016, the rate rose to 50% in 2017 and 2018 before experiencing a decline in the following years. The most recent data from 2022 shows a rate of 44%, indicating a shift back toward his long-term average. This pattern suggests that while individual years may vary, the judge's overall approach remains consistent with his established career baseline.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Staples'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.
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Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Kansas City hearing office
The Kansas City (Missouri) Hearing Office serves a broad population across the region, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an average approval rate of 54%. You can expect a formal administrative process focused on the documentation of your impairments under 20 CFR Part 404. You can visit the Kansas City (Missouri) 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 your specific judge is typically chosen at random. Within the Kansas City (Missouri) office, approval rates among the bench vary significantly, ranging from 28% to 61% across all judges. This variance highlights why focusing on the strength of your own medical evidence is the most effective strategy. 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.