Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your hearing. While the national average approval rate currently sits at 58%, your judge's latest reporting period shows a 61% approval rate. This is measured against a substantial docket of 22,965 lifetime decisions. 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 Stuber'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, your judge has maintained a consistent pattern of decision-making. After an initial period of fluctuation between 2017 and 2021, the approval rate has trended upward, reaching 62% in 2025. This recent performance indicates a shift compared to the lifetime average of 54%. Such patterns often reflect changes in the complexity of cases or the quality of medical evidence presented, and the latest period reflects a continuation of this steady upward trend.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Stuber'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 Stuber? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Fargo hearing office
The Fargo Hearing Office serves claimants throughout North Dakota and surrounding areas. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an active caseload and a latest-period approval rate of 62%. You can expect a professional environment where medical documentation and vocational testimony are prioritized. You can see the Fargo Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Across the Fargo bench, lifetime approval rates for the office's 6 judges range from 46% to 64%. This variance highlights why focusing on the strength of your own medical evidence is the most reliable 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.