Los Angeles Downtown, California ODAR Office

At the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) in Los Angeles Downtown, California, 6 different administrative law judges (ALJ) conduct Social Security Disability (SSD) hearings and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) hearings. Currently, in Los Angeles Downtown, the average wait time for a SSI or SSD hearing is 20.0 months. The average case processing time in Los Angeles Downtown is 580 days.The Los Angeles Downtown average for winning a SSI or SSD disibility hearing is 46%. Click on the name of one of the ALJs below to see detailed information about their hearing results. This information for the Los Angeles Downtown ODAR office was last updated on 6/14/2017.

Average statistics
OfficeJudgesAvg. Hearing
Wait Time		Average
Processing Time		Dispositions
Per Day Per ALJ		Cases
Dismissed		Cases
Approved		Cases
Denied
Los Angeles Downtown 6 20.0 months 580 days 2.2 25% 46% 29%
California18.9 months605 days1.822%46%33%
National Average:18.2 months573 days1.921%45%34%
AVERAGE TIME
Hearing Wait Time: 20.00 months
Dispositions Per Day Per ALJ 2.20
Average Processing Time 580 days
Cases Pending 4828
Dispositions 2065
New Cases 2247
Hearings In Person 99%
Video Hearings 1%
LIST OF JUDGES / 18
Full NameDismissedApprovedDenied
Judge David J Agatstein 19%51%30%
Judge Evelyn M Gunn 31%33%35%
Judge Robert E Lowenstein 28%54%18%
Judge David G Marcus 24%43%33%
Judge James L Moser 25%56%19%
Judge Alexander Weir III 28%33%38%

LATEST COMMENTS         to leave your own comment, select a judge from the list above and leave a comment on that judge's page

Judge: Evelyn M Gunn
9/25/2016 7:38:42 AM

     


If you have a case, you will win. If not, prepare better.

Judge: James L Moser
11/24/2015 9:44:02 PM

     


Judge Moser was very nice and attentive to my case. My case took over one and a half years for my back and anxiety. Judge Moser was on my side,especially when it came to my back. He listened to the physician on the phone and asked a lot of questions to see I could work and the physician and the vocational rehab. both said no. However the psychologist did not help at all. The judge granted two years of disability until Dec. 2018. I hope to get Judge Moser acgain!!
Lillie J. Wilson
Judge: David G Marcus
12/4/2014 5:28:41 PM

     


Judge David G.Marcus is a Very fair & compassionate Judge. Anyone would be as Fortunate as myself to have had him a their Judge .
lose soul
Judge: Jan Donsbach
7/11/2014 2:08:02 PM

     


This Judge does not go by evidence and medical files presented by actual doctors, he rather send you to an doctor, which is social security doctors where they can deny your cases, this is all a setup, judges need to be investigated as well as the clinics they send you to.
JAMIE
Judge: Ariel L Sotolongo
6/24/2014 6:28:26 PM

     


25 MONTHS LATER, JORGENSON LAW FINALLY GOT TO MY HEARING...ALL THE MEDICATIONS iAM ON MADE IT VERY HARD TO FOCUS AND SO i REALLY DONT RECALL A SPECIFICS, AND I AM STILL WAITING ON MY DECISION .... ITS BEEN 25 MONTHS SINCE THIS ALL STARTED...HE SEEMED RESPECTFULLY CONCERNED, AND I FELT HES SMART ON TOP OF THINGS, MY CASE IS SO COMPLEX (BUT I REALLY WANT TO FEEL BETTER) BUT I NEED THE HELP, i DONT WANT TO BE HERE, OR DEPENDENT ON A FLAWED SYSTEM, I LUCKY TO BE STILL ALIVE AFTER hiv, MAJOR DEPRESSION, HOMELESSNESS, AND INJURY. MY GUT LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT SOTOLONGO IS A GOOD ALJ, EVEN IF IAM DENIED (AND IF iAM I WILL TRY NOT TO LOOSE ALL HOPE IN THE SYSTEM)....THOUGH IAM WAITING ITS BEEN THREE WEEKS AND STILL NO LETTER, MY LIFE FEELS SO STUCK... i AM CONFIDENT THAT HE WILL MAKE THE FAIR AND JUST DECISION... ITS BEEN A LONNNGGGG HARD TWO YEARS...BUT, WE/I NEED HELP SOMETIMES I JUST WISH IT WOULD HAVE BEEN WHEN i ASKED, SOONER...BUT I KNOW PEOPLE THAT MISS USE IT, HAVE MADE IT HARD FOR THE ONES THAT REALLY DO NEED IT SOMETIMES AND WHAT DISABILITY BY DEFINITION USE TO BE AND IS AND KEEPS CHANGING MAKE HIS JOB HARD I AM SURE. i HAVE RARE MOMENTS LIKE THIS OF SOME CLARITY..." WHENEVER YOUR LIFE ENDS, IT IS ALL THERE. tHE ADVANTAGE OF LIVING IS NOT MEASURED BY LENGTH, BUT BY USE; SOME MEN HAVE LIVED LONG, AND LIVED LITTLE; ATTEND TO IT WHILE YOU ARE IN IT. iT LIES IN YOUR WILL, NOT IN THE NUMBER OF YEARS, FOR YOU TO HAVE LIVED ENOUGH." mICHEL DE mONTAINGE...THANKS FOR LISTENING BUT MY SHOULDER HURTS AND MY MEDS ARE MAKING TIRED...WISH YOU ALL THE BEST IN LIFE....ITS ALL FOR A REASON "LIVE, AS IF YOU WERE TO DIE TOMORROW. LEARN AS IF YOU WERE TO LIVE FOREVER." MAHATMA GANDHI....

Judge: Evelyn M Gunn
5/1/2014 1:49:15 PM

     


She is a tuff judge! She has postpone my case twice. She repremanded my attorney in the second hearing for not having all my medical records. She told them on the record that they were a disservice to me in doing so. So, hearing number three? Postponed and assignd toa new judge. Now I have to see a new judge. I have a lot of respect for her but am quite annoyed with all the postponements because of the hardship it has created. She is no nonsense and is all about the records. So prepare.

Judge: Ariel L Sotolongo
11/21/2013 11:59:03 AM

     


Ariel L Sotolongo denied me ssi in April of 2012. In December 1997, I went blind in my right eye. From 2002 to 2012 I had applied for SS I and was continuously denied. I applied based on the blindness and my right eye. In the year 2010 two 2012 I was saying eye specialists at Harbor UCLA medical Center located at 1000 W. Carson St., Torrance, CA 90509. I did not have health insurance and incurred a substantial feel of over $4000. While I was seeing these eye specialists doctors, and they are some of the best I doctors in the world. I had all my medical records to substantiate my disability, yet I was continually denied SSI. On September 14, 2012 I received a letter from the ODAR hearing office. In the letter, I was notified that the decision made by Judge Sotolongo was unfavorable. Because I had no health insurance I was depending on the decision by the Judge to be favorable, which would have enabled me to get health insurance/Medicaid. This also would have allowed me to continue to be treated by the eye specialist doctors at Harbor UCLA Medical Center. Because I was not able to continue seeing my doctor, as a result of no health insurance, on September 27, 2013 I caught an eye infection/conjunctivitis which spread to my eyeball in my right eye, the eye in which I was blind since 1997. I went to Hubert Humphrey Medical Center that day and was prescribed oral antibiotics, and an antibiotic eye ointment. My eye got worse and began to turn green. A day later, I went to Centinela Hospital’s emergency room, and saw a physician there who examined my eye. After examining my eye, he then called the doctors at Harbor UCLA Medical Center. The physician I saw at Centinela prescribed an oral antibiotic, and told me to go immediately - the next day - to Harbor UCLA Medical Center, which was on October 7, 2013. That day I saw Dr. Chen, and eye specialist in the clinic at Harbor UCLA Medical Center. After examining my eye, Dr. Chen then brought in another specialist, the head physician of that department. They both sat me down in the room and explained to me that I had an infection in my right eyeball. (This is the eye that I have been blind in since 1997, and treated for at Harbor UCLA Medical Center by medical eye specialists, from 2010 to 2012.) Dr. Chen informed me that the infection could spread to my brain and that they had to operate immediately, and eviscerate (remove completely) my right eye. The surgery took place that evening, October 7, 2013. I am on six weeks recovery and had postop surgery review October 15, 2013. My next appointment to see the plastic surgeon was on November 7, 2013, as they are preparing a Prosthetic eye for me. I had a CT scan on November 1, 2013 to make sure the infection had not spread to my brain. At the time of this letter, I have not received the results from the CT scan because my appointment was postponed and rescheduled for December 3, 2013. Because of this eye infection which caused me to lose my right eye, an infection that could have spread to my brain, I will be seeing eye specialists for the rest of my life. I feel all of this could have been prevented if Henry Ullman M.D. would have given me a favorable report, but that's not his job as he is a doctor that works for Social Security. Also, if Judge Ariel L. Sotolongo would have approved my SSI, that would have enabled me to get health insurance and I could have kept on seeing my eye doctors at Harbor UCLA. This could have prevented the eye infection from setting in. I hold Henry Ullman M.D. and Judge Ariel L. Sotolongo wholly responsible for my current medical condition. Because they kept denying me SSI, and I was blind in my right eye. This condition could have been prevented.


Judge: Evelyn M Gunn
8/6/2013 5:01:39 AM

     


The Judge was fair and very knowledgeable. I was sorely prepared as a cross examiner, I am not a lawyer. Look, this Judge is following the rules and considering the testimony of the doctors. These cases all ride on your medical information. The treating physician holds all the cards and must spell out your restrictions in a written form. None of the personal suffering matters, it's the content within the four corners of the medical records that count. When it's time to testify you are discussing the documents, not your personal downfall. Get your case files and read every page, somewhere buried in those documents is the reason why your case is failing to meet the rules. Speaking of the rules, since I know you can surf the internet read the Blue Book and check to see if you actually have an ailment listed spelled out in your medical history. Remember it is the medical content being discussed. Back to Judge Gunn, she has a powerful persona and is very much in control of the room. I got the feeling she knew one of the Doctors testifying had not read the complete record, and she shut them down quickly. I got every chance to ask questions along the way, but as I stated if it is not in the record, it doesn't count and is not discussed. Judge Gunn started talking about the grid, codes, this, that and the other. To tell you the truth, there is something wonderful about an intelligent woman that knows her stuff. I was totally distracted by the professionalism she displayed, her courtroom manner was pleasant and not bad to look at either, but I digress. At the end of my hearing my symptoms kicked in, I was thinking maybe I should have gotten a lawyer to do this hearing, when I heard the Judge mention details of the case which indicated she knew what was up. Be prepared and she will help you if you have the records. Contrary to what I heard about this will be the time you can tell your story to the Judge, it is not a story from your mouth but from your paperwork and records.

C-Los
Judge: Alexander Weir III
6/9/2013 9:52:03 PM

     


This judge denied my claim of past things i could of done in 2011 but my health went under also that i worked when i showed him proof a police report from Lapd and a letter from Social Security office saying someone used my social and they did not count those earnings i was a victim of id theft. I live in l.a and someone worked in Minnesota the same time i was being seen by my doctors.
Kevin W. S.
Judge: David J Agatstein
3/18/2013 9:12:59 PM

     


Judge David J Agatstein in an ssi ssd judge that is an incompetent and corupted man.He stated that I was sitting without any aparent pain.In fact I had to lay on the office floor due to my pain.I was told I had to sit in the chair.I could not sit without holding myself up off the seet most of the time.I testified to the fact that I was in a bad position.The facts about my disibility are vast! My Name is Kevin W. S.

Judge: Maxine R Benmour
1/18/2013 5:05:00 PM

     


still pretty good but used to be better she's nice and compassionate. Just doesn't grant a much anymore.


Judge: David J Agatstein
1/1/2013 9:25:23 AM

     


Lied about me.did not heed the documents.

Judge: Evelyn M Gunn
12/9/2012 8:39:43 AM

     


judge gunn was very rude. she didn't allow me to speak, other than to answer her questions. she attacked my character in my dismissal letter. she was untimely in her decision, because of all things, she went on a long medical leave. she returned and ordered a new hearing 8 months after my first hearing with her, only to cancel that hearing one day before it was to take place.

Richard Donaldson
Judge: Robert E Lowenstein
10/23/2012 3:14:38 PM

     


I knew Mr. Lowenstein before he became a judge. He is an extremely knowledgeable attorney and a decent human being, a combination of qualities rarely possessed by the same person. The Agency is fortunate to have him; claimants are blessed to have their cases decided by him, and the hearing level adjudication process is far better off merely because he is a part of it.
ricky roque jr.
Judge: James L Moser
9/7/2012 8:59:40 AM

     


Had a hearing on July 24th, Judge was reasonable and tapped in the Doctor for a quick medical evaluation via conference call. Judge Benched me for 1 year only, and reschedule an update for next year. From the begining, Judge wanted to denied my claim,but thanks to my medical file and coming up appointments with Neurology, he approved for 1 year only. A fair fellow.


Judge: Alexander Weir III
8/2/2012 2:17:57 PM

     


A very insensitive person.

Judge: David G Marcus
7/25/2012 9:13:06 PM

     


He is really nice guy and will let you make an argument for your case. Doesnt require an opening or closing but will sometimes ask questions regarding the records.


Judge: David G Marcus
7/25/2012 9:13:00 PM

     


He is really nice guy and will let you make an argument for your case. Doesnt require an opening or closing but will sometimes ask questions regarding the records.


Judge: Alexander Weir III
5/13/2012 11:06:05 PM