Approval rates
Judge Tucevich has issued 5,385 lifetime decisions, providing a substantial data set for understanding your approach to disability claims. Your current approval rate aligns with the national average and slightly exceeds the performance of your peers at the Phoenix office. These figures offer a helpful baseline for what to expect during your hearing. 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 Tucevich'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 your 3-year tenure, Judge Tucevich has shown a consistent approach to disability adjudication. While your approval rate shifted from 63% in 2016 to 54% by 2018, these fluctuations are common as judges refine their case management. The data reflects a steady pattern of decision-making that remains closely aligned with broader regional and national benchmarks. This consistency helps provide a reliable expectation for the evidentiary standards required in your courtroom.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Tucevich'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 Tucevich? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Phoenix hearing office
The Phoenix Hearing Office serves a large population across Arizona, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office handles diverse case types and maintains a consistent workflow to address the regional backlog. You can expect a professional, structured environment focused on the thorough review of medical evidence. You can see the Phoenix Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the Phoenix office, lifetime approval rates among the bench vary significantly, ranging from 36% to 78%. Because of this variance, understanding the general environment of the office is as important as knowing your specific judge. 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.