We are a group of individuals who are trying to help the public know what to expect when they walk into an Administrative Law Judges court room. We are trying to help people prepare for there court hearing by having others comment on the judge’s professional temperament, knowledge, and impartiality.
It allows the public to have an idea of what to expect before going into court with their specific Administrative Law Judge. One way is by looking at the percentage of approved cases, another way is reading the comments from the Attorney’s, Representative, and claimant’s who have appeared in front a specific judge.
How did the judge treat everyone in the court room, including the claimant, the attorney/representative, and the experts? Did the Judge miss any major points? Did the judge mischaracterize any evidence or testimony? Was the judge fair? In your comments try and explain things in a way that would help others who appear in front of this judge.
Yes, you would have to file the complaint with the Social Security Administration. If you do that you will never know the outcome. This website helps other Attorneys, Representatives, and claimants by informing then how to prepare and what to expect while in front of a specific administrative law judge.
One must be a licensed attorney, for 7 years. They must have qualified litigation experience. They must pass and examination. (OPM.GOV)
No, they cannot be independent. They work for the Social Security Administration, they have quotas. They are paid by a salary by the Social Security Administration. The Administrative Law Judges belong to a Union. In a recent Federal Appellate court decision, the quotes were upheld, the decision did state that this would not interfere with the ALJ independence.
If you assume they do the minimum quota of 500 cases per year and further assume there are 2000 working hour in a year. They have 4 hours per case. That includes your hearing, reading all your medical records, and writing the decision, and administrative tasks, like ordering medical records or following up on obtaining medial records.