Donald J Willy, Houston-bissonnet , Texas Odar Office, Administrative Law Judge
For the 2010 *fiscal year, Judge Donald J Willy has disposed 525 cases at the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) in HOUSTON DOWNTOWN, TEXAS. Out of those 525 dispostions, 73 were dismissed, 326 were approved and 126 were denied. This means that the percentage of depositions that Judge Donald J Willy has approved in HOUSTON DOWNTOWN for the 2010 fiscal year is 17%. The information below for Judge Donald J Willy was last updated on 04/28/2023.
AVERAGE STATISTICS
| Office | *Fiscal Year | Total Depositions | Total Decisions | Total Denials | Total Awards | Cases Dismissed | Cases Approved | Cases Denied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOUSTON DOWNTOWN | 2010 | 525 | 452 | 126 | 326 | 14% | 62% | 24% |
| HOUSTON-BISSONNET | 2012 | 543 | 412 | 191 | 221 | 24% | 41% | 35% |
| HOUSTON-BISSONNET | 2015 | 518 | 411 | 220 | 191 | 21% | 37% | 42% |
| HOUSTON-BISSONNET | 2014 | 515 | 395 | 174 | 221 | 23% | 43% | 34% |
| HOUSTON-BISSONNET | 2013 | 519 | 419 | 203 | 216 | 19% | 42% | 39% |
| HOUSTON-BISSONNET | 2016 | 551 | 423 | 216 | 207 | 23% | 38% | 39% |
| HOUSTON-BISSONNET | 2017 | 494 | 394 | 172 | 222 | 20% | 45% | 35% |
| HOUSTON-BISSONNET | 2018 | 133 | 101 | 49 | 52 | 24% | 39% | 37% |
| HOUSTON-BISSONNET | 2019 | 339 | 269 | 127 | 142 | 21% | 42% | 37% |
| HOUSTON-BISSONNET | 2020 | 342 | 283 | 138 | 145 | 17% | 42% | 40% |
AVERAGE TIME
| Dismissed | Approved | Denied | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donald J Willy | No Stats for FY2020 | ||
| All ALJs in HOUSTON DOWNTOWN | 18% | 40% | 41% |
| All ALJs in TEXAS | 18% | 41% | 40% |
| All ALJs in the Nation | 18% | 45% | 38% |
13 Comments
Judge Donald J. Willy is an excellent judge!!! He takes the time to let you talk and tell him about your medical conditions and how they affect you. He is very patient and listens to you. Thank you Judge Willy for being a fair judge.
I am the mother of an applicant and for almost thirty years I have been supporting my son, as he began displaying mental and emotional problems since he was very young. ERRONEOUSLY, I thought I was doing the right thing in taking on the entire burden and responsibility for his care unto myself. I have literally lost everything because of it, and at this point urge others not to do the same. Our government is one of the only governments who CARES for people with disabilities. Through some misguided sense of patriotism and “Wonder-Woman”Syndrome, I chose not to apply for that help for the longest time. I can’t tell you the ways it has hurt both my son and myself and if I had it to do again, I would begin the process early.
On the flip side of that, PLEASE if you are NOT disabled and are trying to get a measly allowance from the government, I PLEAD with you to think of those who actually need it, and who are stuck, like we are, in a system which makes it so difficult to receive help due to people who are trying to steal from from an already over-burdened system. It is NOT worth it in the long run. As the bible verse goes: “For what does it profit a man if he should gain the entire world, and lose his own soul?” You have NO idea how much pain, distress, anxiety, and the further burden of proof you are putting on those who REALLY and truly, desperately need the help.
In 2013, MHMRA helped us to apply for disability for my son. My son’s court date was July 31st of 2017, after which he was sent to an outside doctor and having just spoken to the judge’s assistant, I am told the judge wants to hold yet ANOTHER hearing, but that they are booked THROUGH December and that the earliest of hearings would be in JANUARY 2018! THAT IS FIVE YEARS BATTLING THIS. I cannot tell you how very disgusted I am and just how very heart-wrenchingly difficult this has been. I simply cannot stop crying. I am ill now too. I was in the hospital on August 5th and 6th because my body went into shock, I collapsed and had to be given a blood transfusion. My biggest fear is that I am going to die, and leave my son who can’t take care of himself, alone, with not a cent and this case still pending. I am about to lose my house and don’t know what my son will do afterwards. The thing is, I don’t have the money or strength any longer to fight even the good fight. Again, if you are looking for ‘free’ money, I urge you, ask you, IMPLORE you to think again about people like my son who really need the help and can’t seem to get it because of the judges needing to weigh every case before them so stringently that sometimes they make mistakes on the side of too cautious and this means people with REAL, TERRIBLE conditions, are left fighting battles they shouldn’t have to fight.
This was a very long and tough process. I kept myself off of the street, but only because I was lucky enough to get housing and SNAP. But once the appeal hearing date arrived, everything started to move very fast. It is so discouraging going through this process, but I’ll include dates with my review in case it helps you know things start to move rapidly once you get your day in court.
Judge Willy was incredibly polite and respectful. The court’s doctor couldn’t read the information my doctor had submitted, so they couldn’t agree with his diagnosis. Judge Willy could have easily declined my appeal and sent me on my way. Instead, he had my appeal hearing rescheduled (a couple months later) so I could get my doctor to send the court info they could read (I have no idea why Binder and Binder, my rep, never advised me this might be an issue since they actually reviewed my doctor’s notes before submitting them to social security). My rescheduled appeal hearing was very easy and quick. The court’s doctor said she agreed with my doctor’s diagnosis and that was it. I was done in about 10 minutes.
My appeal was Aug 22nd and I received the Judge’s decision Oct 20th. It was for a concurrent SSI and SSDI claim, and I received a notice from SSI on Oct 22nd and I went to the SSI office on Dillard St Oct 27th. The meeting at SSI took about 30 minutes, including waiting. The waiting room was packed, but most were there for other issues. SSI said I should start receiving monthly payments in November and the 1st back pay withing 30 days. She also checked and saw SSDI was processing my payment, so it shouldn’t take much longer. This also means I can start using medicaid benefits and finally go back to my doctor and take better meds.
Keep you head up, particularly if you get Judge Willy. He will definitely be fair and treat you with respect. And, most importantly, allow you to present your case and your doctor’s notes, to the ALJ directly, instead of simply being passed along (meaning denied each step of the claim process).
In my opinion he was very professional and interested in the facts at hand. He explained everything to me and with the scenario around my situation I think he is very fair. And I say that because he gave opportunity for me to explain certain things that were misunderstood with my case.
I felt the Judge was fair and listened to all the medical records and evaluated all the evidence. To anyone going to social security for a disability know the system is failing. It should not be a process of pain and long waits, We still have not gotten a letter of decision even though a great length of time has based. I do not feel it is the Judges fault, but a system failure.
My friend had her hearing on 1/28 and it’s been over 60 days, still no written decision. She is really trying to be patient – but she said she had no idea it would take so much longer after a hearing to recieve a decision. She said Judge Willy was very inquisitive but seemed to show compassion. Hopefully, she will get a favorable decision and a letter is forthcoming; within the 90 day timeframe.
Judge Willy is a real judge. He is not a bureaucrat. He has compassion and follows the law. I was not represented by a lawyer, and he explained the law and rules to me. He suggested questions I might want to ask the government doctors. It has been a long wait for disability, and Judge Willy was the first voice that offered me some justice.
I believe that Judge Willy is a honourable and respectable Judge. He seems to be a very patient and fair Judge and that speaks volumes to me. He took the time to actually listen to my case, and I felt like his ear was the one that was meant to hear it. He asked questions of both myself and the Social Security doctors and made a point to understand from both sides. I haven’t had a decision on my case yet and he advised that at my hearing, whatever the outcome I think that he was a fair Judge.
I finally got my disability hearing.
I arrived early, but the hearing started about 30minutes late. When we went back to the courtroom, the judge explained that he had some earlier cases that went longer. However, he listened to me and the Social Security doctor for over an hour. So I got my time.
Judge Willy was fair. He wanted to hear all the evidence. He told me upfront that he would not be making a decision at the hearing, but would send me a written decision later. He wanted to read all the evidence. At the hearing he asked some pretty hard questions, but he asked the Social Security doctor some very hard questions as well.
At the end I thought he wanted to hear everything, and was interested in my case. He was very polite and a gentleman.
This Judge offered my friend an onset of her benefits if she would take it that day and sign off on it that he would approve her disability and then denied her after the fact. She signed the paper not knowing what it truly meant and she is mentally impaired so I believe this Judge and her attorney have taken advantage of her. When I received my benefits I signed an onset and received my benefits approval that day and this is unfair and unjust.