The Social Security Administration has commissioned an independent review of the federal disability system to answer concerns that it awards benefits to those who don’t deserve them and denies benefits to those who do.
While I wholeheartedly support a review based on the latter, I’ve yet to see a case where benefits to the undeserving sailed though.
Apparently, a focus of the study is the work of the administrative-law judges who hear appeals by applicants. That makes sense.
But the announced plan by the Social Security Administration to stop telling people which judge has been assigned to their case makes no sense at all.
The reason given is allegedly to prevent applicants and their lawyers from trying to get their appeals in front of the most lenient judges. I can’t speak for other regions but here in Oregon, it’s not possible to do that.
Not finding out who the judge will be is simply another roadblock being placed in the way of success for deserving applicants. As a social security attorney, I know our local judges. Some want a pre-hearing brief. Others want a particular style of memo or unique information. How does it make sense to keep the assignment of judge a secret?