Judge Ratings for Newark Social Security Hearings (Oct 2024)

Are you wondering if you got a good judge for your Newark Social Security Hearing for Disability or SSI scheduled in the Office of Hearing Operations (OHO)? Do you want to know everything you can about the where, why and how of the hearing itself? You’re not alone, most of our clients desperately want to know every detail of their Disability Hearing so that they have the best chance of winning. You might have a hearing in Newark if you have a Social Security Disability/SSI appeal and live in East Orange, Neptune, New Brunswick, Newark, Newton, Parsippany, Somerville, Springfield Ave, Trenton, Union Township, or Woodbridge. The Newark Social Security hearing office is located on Raymond Boulevard, 3 blocks north of Prudential Center, where the NJ Devils and Seton Hall Pirates play. You can find the name of your judge on a hearing scheduled notice or call the number for the hearing office (at the bottom of this page). Here are all the judges’ statistics and other information that you need, and if you’re looking for a Disability Lawyer serving Newark, don’t hesitate to call us or email us and we will evaluate your case for free.

Judges’ Statistics

The following table is up to date as of October 2024:

Tip: Get every shred of medical evidence you can for the hearing. That means medical records, supportive letters/forms from your doctor(s), therapy notes from mental health practitioners, or other documents like these. A Disability Lawyer serving Newark can and will help you gather medical evidence that the judge needs to make a decision in your case. Any missing evidence will sometimes delay the decision in your case and at worst convince the judge to deny your case.

The Quality of Newark Social Security Hearing Judges

Bad news if you have a case in Newark. Newark Social Security Hearing Judges are some of the toughest in the country, with bad case approval ratings. Newark has much worse than average judges when it comes to case approval percentages. The national average for case approval rate is 54%, and as you can see, Newark Judges are lower, namely 44%. You’ll also notice from the above table that a couple of judges are about average but most judges in Newark have a low approval rate. Some people still have really good experiences, because some of the judges and staff genuinely care about other people. But many have very bad experiences in Newark because it still is Social Security, run by the government, which is a complete and utter mess. The judges there are doing the best they can. Do they get decisions wrong sometimes? Of course, they are human. Only those with very low case approval rates would we wonder if they are biased.

For example, for Newark Social Security hearings, Administrative Law Judge Peter Lee has the lowest case approval percentage at 15%. This rate is one of the lowest in the country and we have to ask the question: is Judge Lee biased against claimants? Does he only approve people over 55 years of age? Hard to tell, because there is no way to see his individual decisions due to confidentiality. As for the other judges, some of them are below 45%. They may be reasonable but just very skeptical. If you draw a judge with below 40% approval rate then you will need a very good case to win. That usually means that if you’re under 50 you must have a very debilitating condition or being at least 50 or over with a physical condition that prevents the ability to stand and walk. In both cases, you may lose if you have sedentary work experience. Click here to get more information about the rules, or a Disability Lawyer serving Newark, like us, can give you the information you need. Click here for a free case evaluation.

Where Will My Hearing Be Held?

Most hearings will be held by phone, the judge’s clerk will call your phone and place you in a conference call. The whole hearing will be held via conference call, it’s actually very efficient. If you have a lawyer the evidence is submitted electronically before the hearing.

If you don’t have a lawyer you’ll have to bring your evidence to the hearing office or mail it in. You can request an in-person hearing, but we don’t advise it. If you do have a in-person hearing or need to submit evidence, check out the photo above from the SSA hearing office locator website. It shows that Newark Social Security hearings are held on the 3rd Floor of 1100 Raymond Boulevard, Newark, NJ 07102. You’ll go through the metal detectors – don’t bring any weapons, even a pocket knife, or they won’t let you in. Then check in with the staff and wait to be called for your hearing. If you need to reach the Newark Social Security hearing office, also known as the Office of Hearing Operations, call (877) 405-9798.

What should I do if I need help with my hearing?

If you do not have a lawyer yet, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) presiding over your case will almost always give you a postponement to try to get a lawyer. These hearings are very difficult without a lawyer, and the ALJs rarely get the evidence they need unless a lawyer is involved. If you need a Disability Lawyer serving Newark, no matter what stage your case is in, call us or email us and we will evaluate your case for free.