A common concern of my disability clients about to go to hearing is what’s going to happen there, which is a topic I spend a lot of time talking with them about. In today’s blog, I’d like to share with you what I tell my clients. Here in Oregon, your hearing will be held in a small room and will not look anything like Judge Judy’s courtroom! There is no bailiff and no member of the public is permitted to sit and listen. Your hearing is so private in fact that your spouse is not allowed in the room except when he or she is testifying as a lay witness.
It begins when you are called into the hearing room, sworn in, and then the questioning will begin. Typically, the administrative law judge (ALJ) will begin by asking you questions that may include such things as your height, weight, where you live, who you live with and how you support yourself. The ALJ will ask you about your past work for the last fifteen years, your education, and your military service. Finally, the ALJ will ask about why you believe you cannot work. My approach is to supplement, not repeat, what the ALJ asks. It’s not helpful to ask the same questions and it tends to irritate the ALJ. Instead, I’ll focus on what you didn’t say, either because it wasn’t asked or because when you were answering, you didn’t give a complete answer or said something different from what you told me when we prepared for the hearing.
Nothing is more important in the hearing than for your lawyer not to be surprised by what you answer to the ALJ’s questions. Make sure that before your hearing, you and your lawyer have thoroughly discussed your answers to all of the topics I described above.
After your testimony, it’s time for the testimony of your lay witness(es). In Oregon, we rarely have the opportunity to present more than one lay witness. My approach is to get other lay testimony in letters and save the best for the hearing. This is a person who knows you well, has spent a lot of time with you in person since the time when you claim that your disability started, and can testify to what they’ve observed, not just to what you’ve told them. Needless to say, if your mother lives 3000 miles away, even if you talk everyday, she will not be a good witness. The questions for the lay witness will be similar to what is asked of you, with a special focus on issues such as what you’re able to do for yourself at home and your social life.
In Part 2, I’ll talk about the Vocational Expert stage of the hearing.