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Judge Ratings for St. Petersburg FL Social Security Hearings (Oct 2024)

October 29, 2024 Disability

The Quality of St. Petersburg FL Social Security Hearing Judges

Not great news if you have a Social Security Disability Hearing in St. Petersburg! St. Petersburg FL Social Security Hearing Judges have below average case approval ratings. The national average for case approval rate is 54%, and as you can see from the table below, St. Petersburg FL Judges are below average, namely 52%. Could be better! It appears that St. Petersburg FL has four judges who are below average, however, the good news is that they are all at or over 40%. See the note below for why we don’t count Judges Messina, Lowther, Zamboni or Green.

This page is for St. Petersburg FL Social Security Hearings, in other words, for people who live in or near Bradenton, Clearwater, New Port Richey, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, or Venice. For other locations in Florida click on:

Judge Ratings for St. Petersburg FL Social Security Hearings

Are you wondering if you got a good judge for your St. Petersburg FL 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 St. Petersburg FL if you have a Social Security Disability/SSI appeal and live in or near Bradenton, Clearwater, New Port Richey, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, or Venice. The St. Petersburg FL Social Security Hearing office is on Central Avenue about a block East of Parking Lot 6 of Tropicana Field. Go Rays! 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 St. Petersburg FL, 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:

Judge

Percent Approved

Total Dispositions

Zamboni, Norman R

65%

23

Sprague, Anne V

57%

350

Smith, Donald G

52%

467

Messina, Christopher

36%

14

Lowther, Sheila

56%

9

Kafkas, Peter

47%

344

Green, Gloria W

100%

17

Gartner, Richard P

58%

86

Foley, Rita E

55%

247

Ehrman, Kurt G

40%

206

Alderisio, James P

52%

422

Totals

52%

2185

Social Security Disability Hearing Tip: When you get a hearing date, you will receive a hearing notice from the Judge who has been given your claim to adjudicate. Look for the signature line of the letter with the hearing date and time. Your judge will have signed it, electronically of course. You are likely stuck with the Judge that is assigned to your case, even if the case is postponed. The only time you switch judges is when the original judge has a conflict or when you’ve won two appeals and gotten two remands for new hearings. A Disability Lawyer serving St. Petersburg FL, like us, can explain in more detail how judges get assigned and how the decision process should go. Contact us for a free consultation or more information.

Case Approval Rates of St. Petersburg FL Social Security Hearing Judges

The national average for case approval rate is 54%, and St. Petersburg FL Judges are at 52%. Still, many people have really good experiences, because some of the judges and staff genuinely care about other people. And many have very bad experiences in St. Petersburg 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 might be called biased.

For example, for St. Petersburg FL Social Security hearings, Administrative Law Judge Kurt Ehrman has the lowest case approval rate at 40%. That is actually not very low and surely within the bounds of reason. Judge Ehrman could very possibly be just a little skeptical, and if so, that is hard to fault. Reasonable minds can differ sometimes. Note: We don’t count the judges with less than 50 dispositions because it is a small sample size and could be misleading. For example, Judge Christopher Messina appears to only have a 36% approval rate but this is misleading because he has dismissed over 60% of his cases. When he hears a case, he actually approves most of them. He only has 65 dispositions across four different hearing offices, so his dismissal rate seems to be a statistical fluke.

We can also see from the table that most of the Judges are at 56% or below, so there is a chance you will draw one of these judges. If you draw a judge with at or below 56% approval rate then you will need a decent case to win, usually with lots of medical evidence and an opinion from a medical expert that you are disabled. Make sure you get all of your relevant medical records and try to get a supporting letter from your doctor. To win with a judge at or under 56%, if you’re under age 50 you probably have to have a condition that stops you from working at all (not just part time) or being at least age 50 or over with a physical condition that prevents the ability to stand and walk for a prolonged period of time. 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 St. Petersburg FL, 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 the SSA hearing office locator website. The St. Petersburg FL Social Security Hearing office is on the 2nd Floor of 830 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 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 St. Petersburg FL Social Security hearing office, also known as the Office of Hearing Operations, call (877) 452-4193.

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 St. Petersburg FL, no matter what stage your case is in, call us or email us and we will evaluate your case for free.