i have a alj hearing next week kinda nervous my attorney is being supportive..
it is going to be on t.v judge can see me and i them has anyone had this and was it good out come for it to be this way?? not sure what to exspect i hope all is well i am young was diagnosed with ms at early age suffered with depression for years and pain.what concerns me is they called my attorneys office the other day and ask if they still planned on going through with the hearing. i dont no what to think when something like this happens any advise would be so appreciated.thanks

It is nothing unusual about them contacting you or your lawyer about attending. They are just confirming everything. They did this for me as well. Keep us posted! Good luck!

Hi! What Anna said!
About doing it via TV; it saves them a heck of a lot of time and they can process benefits for people faster. Considering the backlog it's a good thing and probably made your hearing happen sooner.
It would seem like it would be a bit harder for the judge to get an idea of what kind of person you are and if you really need benefits. Still the facts are the facts and that's what he's going to focus on.
I recently started using Skype. I was surprise at how well I was able to get a sense of the person I was speaking to. I had some negative pre-judgements
about this person, yet when I spoke with them via Skype I found myself, doubting my judgements. So this type of communication may be better than we realize. It least it was for me!
I'm so glad you are finally getting your hearing. I was nervous as hell when I had mine. I cried. I couldn't think. But somehow I got through it and the lawyer told me I did well, afterwards. That's cool too that you have a supportive lawyer.
Let us know how it goes!
Sunrise

don't worry about checking up to see if you still plan on attending....this is normal in case you have a problem with the attendance date. The day before my appt, there was a big snow storm and they expect you to have problems with things like that. Having the judge over the TV is no different than being in person. They ask the same questions and your lawyer should direct the issues most of the time. Just be sure to give them your worst case scenario.....fatigue is HUGE so use it. You can't do anything on most days due to FATIGUE. Most of us MS people suffer from it and it makes our muscles turn into spaghetti....so you can't walk far or climb stairs.....and fatigue makes us not play well with others! Pretty much this alone put me over the edge for a favorable decision. Now I'll go take my nap....and good luck!

One of my clients had a phone interview with an ALJ. That was years ago I don't know if they still do it, but she won. MS. is pretty serious, the whole thing comes down to how long you can stand, walk, sit and stay focused.

The judges try not to do telephonic unless there's no other choice. You really want to the judges to see you. However, the video conferencing hearings are fine. They use big screen tvs and the judge can see and hear you. It's not a big deal, they're held the same way as usual. They're mainly used because some hearing offices are busier than others and that way a New Mexico judge can take some Tucson cases without actually having to travel. It cuts down on the wait time for hearings significantly. So it's not a big deal, and your attorney is right to not be worried about it. The attorney does these all the time.