Approval rates
Judge Tran has issued 5,096 decisions during a 3-year tenure, providing a clear statistical baseline for your review. While your judge's latest approval rate of 43% sits slightly above the Topeka KS office average, it remains lower than the national benchmark. These figures reflect a significant volume of cases, offering a stable look at historical patterns. 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 Tran'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 three years on the bench, Judge Tran has maintained a steady approval pattern, with annual rates of 46% in 2023, 44% in 2024, and 48% in 2025. The most recent reporting period shows an approval rate of 43%, which aligns closely with your judge's long-term career average. This consistency suggests a stable approach to evaluating your disability claim. The data indicates that your judge's decision-making process has remained predictable throughout this period.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Tran'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 Tran? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Topeka KS hearing office
The Topeka KS Hearing Office serves a broad population across Kansas, managing a high volume of disability claims. With 6 judges on the bench, the office maintains an average approval rate of 43% in the latest reporting period. You can expect a formal hearing process focused on your medical evidence and vocational testimony. You can view the full ALJ roster on the Topeka KS Hearing Office page.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases to judges using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning you cannot request a specific judge. The bench at the Topeka KS Hearing Office is diverse, with lifetime approval rates among judges ranging from 24% to 60%. Because of this variance, the judge you are assigned can influence the context of your hearing. You can find more information on the office's overall operations by visiting the Topeka KS Hearing Office page.
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.