Approval rates
Comparing approval rates requires looking at consistent timeframes. The data below contrasts Frederick Timm's performance against the South Jersey office, New Jersey state, and national averages over the 12 months ending July 31, 2026. With 4,288 total decisions on record since 2016, the volume of cases provides a significant sample size for review.
SSA publishes no office- or national-level breakdown of fully favorable and denial rates. The 12 months are SSA's figures for this fiscal year to date plus the rest of the previous fiscal year; how we calculate them.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Timm'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
Since 2016, Frederick Timm has issued 4,288 decisions, maintaining an overall approval rate of 70%. Yearly approval trends show fluctuations, moving from 63% in 2016 to a peak of 76% in 2020 before settling into recent levels. The most recent 12 months sit slightly below the long-term average of 70% recorded since 2016.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Timm'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.
About the South Jersey hearing office
The South Jersey Hearing Office serves you as part of the Social Security Administration's national network. This office has a bench of 8 judges who decided cases in the most recent SSA file. The office maintained an approval rate of 68% over the 12 months to July 31, 2026.
Other judges whose most recent office on record is South Jersey
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Among the 8 judges who decided cases here in SSA's latest file, approval rates range from 45% to 81% over the 12-month window.
Judges with similar approval rates
These active judges' approval rates over the same 12 months (July 26, 2025 – July 31, 2026) are closest to Judge Timm's 67%. All five last decided cases in New Jersey.
- 66% Approval rate, last 12 months Robert Gonzalez
- 65% Approval rate, last 12 months Elizabeth A. Lardaro
- 64% Approval rate, last 12 months Kevin Kenneally
- 64% Approval rate, last 12 months Lisa Hibner Olson
- 64% Approval rate, last 12 months David Suna
Rates within 5 points of each other are hard to tell apart at a typical caseload, so treat these as judges with comparable records, not a ranking. See Judge Timm and the three closest side by side →
Approval rates change with a lawyer
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.
Frequently asked questions
Over the 12 months to July 31, 2026, Frederick Timm's 67% approval rate is within the 45% to 81% range seen among the 8 judges who decided cases here in SSA's latest file. An attorney can help you prepare for the specific tendencies of the judge assigned to your hearing.
Frederick Timm's approval rate has varied over time, starting at 63% in 2016 and reaching 70% across the total record of 4,288 decisions. An attorney can help you understand how your specific evidence impacts your case.
No, you cannot request a specific judge for your SSDI hearing. The Social Security Administration uses a random, workload-based algorithm to assign cases. An attorney can help you prepare your case regardless of which judge is assigned.
A judge's approval rate is a statistical summary of past decisions and does not predict the outcome of your specific hearing. Your success depends primarily on the medical evidence and documentation you provide to support your claim. An attorney can help you gather the necessary evidence to present the strongest possible case.
