Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Upshall maintains a lifetime approval rate of 62% across 10,288 lifetime decisions, which sits higher than the current 55% office average and the 58% national average. These figures are derived from a significant volume of cases, providing a look at historical trends. 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 Upshall Jr.'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
Your career trajectory shows a shift in approval patterns. After starting with a 62% approval rate in 2016, the rate reached 69% in 2017 and 67% in 2018, before moving to 53% in the most recent reporting period. This shift over 10,288 lifetime decisions reflects a move toward more conservative outcomes in recent years. Understanding this trajectory is helpful, as the recent period reflects a departure from the earlier, higher approval trends observed during your tenure.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Upshall Jr.'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 Upshall Jr.? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Albuquerque hearing office
The Albuquerque Hearing Office serves a broad population across New Mexico, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains a latest approval rate of 55%. You should be prepared for a rigorous review of medical evidence and vocational testimony. You can see the Albuquerque Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases through a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the Albuquerque Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 41% to 62%. Because of this variance, the specific judge assigned to your case can influence the hearing environment. For preparation purposes, the guidance remains consistent 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.