Approval rates
Judge Brown has issued 13,078 decisions during her 6 years on the bench. Her lifetime approval rate of 53% provides a baseline for understanding her decision-making history compared to the Indianapolis office average of 61% and the national average of 58%. These figures represent a probability cloud from past hearings rather than a fixed prediction for your upcoming appearance. 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 Brown'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 her 6-year tenure, your judge's approval rate has fluctuated, moving from 54% in 2016 to a peak of 61% in 2019 before trending toward 45% in 2021. This variability is common among ALJs as case mixes and evidence standards evolve. While the recent period shows a decline relative to her lifetime average, these patterns are often influenced by the specific medical evidence presented in your file. The data suggests a shift in outcomes that warrants careful attention to how your medical records are organized.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Brown'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 Brown? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Indianapolis hearing office
The Indianapolis Hearing Office serves a broad population across Indiana, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate of 61%. You should expect a formal process focused on the medical documentation of your impairments. You can see the Indianapolis 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 your assignment to Judge Brown is essentially random. Within the Indianapolis Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 48% to 72%. This diversity highlights that while the office operates under unified federal guidelines, individual judicial perspectives vary. You can find more information on the Indianapolis Hearing Office page.
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.