Approval rates
Judge Ball's approval rate is calculated based on a docket of 12,114 lifetime decisions accumulated over 8 years on the bench. In the most recent reporting period, the judge recorded an approval rate of 55%, compared to the 66% average for the Baltimore Hearing Office and the 58% national average. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for individual hearings.
Office- and national-level breakdowns of fully favorable vs denial rates aren't currently published by SSA in the per-office disposition data. The judge's own breakdown is the detail we have today.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Ball's docket. Annual rates fluctuate with the mix of cases SSA assigns; the longer-run pattern is more informative than any single year.
Decision pattern
Over an 8-year tenure, the approval rate for Judge Ball has shown an upward trend, rising from 27% in 2019 to 64% in 2024. The latest period reflects a slight cooling from that peak, yet the overall trajectory remains distinct from the earlier years of this judge's career.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Ball's bench. Judge-specific preparation guidance requires a corpus of public Appeals Council decisions involving each judge, which we haven't built yet.
- Bring a clean treating-physician record. Longitudinal primary-care or specialist notes spanning the disability period, with consistent symptom documentation, are typically the strongest evidence at hearing. A single month's records usually aren't enough.
- Don't rely on consultative exams alone. If your medical evidence is built primarily around a one-time CE finding, expect detailed questioning. Supplement with treating-source statements where possible.
- Prepare for daily-activity questions. Have honest, specific answers about a typical day. Answers that conflict with the medical record (in either direction) tend to hurt credibility.
- Expect transferable-skills probing. A vocational expert will usually testify about jobs available to someone with your limitations. Your representative should be prepared to cross-examine.
Hearing with Judge Ball? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Baltimore hearing office
The Baltimore Hearing Office serves you throughout the Maryland region, managing a high volume of disability appeals. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate of 66%. You can expect a formal administrative process focused on medical evidence and vocational testimony. You can visit the Baltimore Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the Baltimore Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 43% to 81%. Because each judge maintains their own courtroom standards, understanding the office-wide environment is helpful.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
SSDI hearing approval rates — represented vs. on your own
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.