Approval rates
Judge Stewart's approval rates are measured against the broader context of the Fresno Hearing Office and national standards. In the latest reporting period, her approval rate reached 70%, which is 11 percentage points higher than the national average of 58%. With a career spanning 19,074 lifetime decisions, the data offers a stable view of her decision-making history. These aggregate rates describe past outcomes rather than 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 Stewart'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 10 years on the bench, Judge Stewart has shown a consistent trend in her approval patterns. Starting at 59% in 2016, her approval rate trended upward over the last decade, reaching a peak of 79% in 2024 before settling at 74% in 2025. This steady pattern reflects a long-term decision-making trajectory.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Stewart'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 Stewart? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Fresno hearing office
The Fresno Hearing Office serves a large population across California, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an environment where approval rates vary between individual ALJs. You should be prepared for a thorough review of your medical evidence regardless of the assigned judge.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases to judges using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment is essentially random. Within the Fresno Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 ALJs range from 37% to 73%. Because you cannot choose your judge, understanding the office-wide environment is as important as looking at one individual's history.
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.