Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime performance against current office and national benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Stevens Bentley maintains a 64% lifetime approval rate, which is 1 percentage point above the San Bernardino office average and 6 points above the national average. With a docket spanning 21,988 decisions, this data offers a statistically significant look at past trends.
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 Bentley'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, Judge Stevens Bentley has maintained a consistent approach to disability claims. While the annual approval rate saw a dip in 2022, the most recent data shows a return to higher approval levels, with a 66% rate in the latest reporting period. This trend suggests a steady application of SSA guidelines across a high volume of cases, indicating that the judge's decision-making remains predictable for those presenting well-documented evidence.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Bentley'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 Bentley? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the San Bernardino hearing office
The San Bernardino Hearing Office serves a large population in Southern California, managing a high volume of disability claims. With 6 judges on the bench, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate of 63%. You can expect a professional environment focused on the thorough review of medical and vocational evidence. You can visit the San Bernardino Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
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. Across the San Bernardino office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 52% to 64%. While these variations exist, the fundamental requirements for proving disability remain consistent regardless of which judge is assigned to your hearing.
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.