Updated July 2026 · SSA Public

Administrative Law Judge

Gaffney, John

PHOENIX DOWNTOWNArizona Trending up

+17.6 pts vs national average

75.3%lifetime approval

vs baselines

This judge75.3%

PHOENIX DOWNTOWN60.0%

National avg57.7%

Total decisions

381

Fully favorable

273

71.7%

Partially favorable

3.7%

Denials

24.7%

Total dispositions

451

Dismissals

15.5%

Awards

287

3-year trend

Rising

FY2026 decision breakdown

Fully fav.

Denied

Fully fav. 71.7%Partially fav. 3.7%Denied 24.7%

Approval rate history

FY2015

47.6%105 dec

FY2016

53.5%419 dec

FY2017

45.0%407 dec

FY2018

48.5%472 dec

FY2019

50.9%499 dec

FY2020

58.6%445 dec

FY2021

55.7%415 dec

FY2022

56.4%312 dec

FY2023

70.2%295 dec

FY2024

74.7%320 dec

Above national Below national National avg

Other ALJs at PHOENIX DOWNTOWN (5)

Davis, Charles
329 dec75.1%
Fletcher, Guy E.
158 dec72.8%
Paternoster, Sasha
137 dec59.1%
Waters, Carla L
264 dec46.6%
Alegre, Dante M.
253 dec31.2%

Judges in Arizona with the most decisions

Johnson, Larry E
TUCSON290 dec
Walls, Kelly
PHOENIX NORTH261 dec
Armbruster, Ted
PHOENIX NORTH257 dec
Chen, TinTin
TUCSON208 dec
Businger, Thomas
PHOENIX NORTH67 dec

Next step

Estimate approval odds

See SSA historical base rates for a claim by state, condition, age, and stage — then plan around the hearing-stage odds.