Approval rates
When evaluating your claim, it is useful to look at how your judge's approval rate compares to broader benchmarks. His lifetime rate of 37% is currently lower than the 52% average seen at the Savannah Hearing Office and the 58% national average. These figures are derived from a significant docket of 17,145 lifetime decisions accumulated over his tenure. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for your individual hearing.
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 Casher'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 his 7 years on the bench, your judge has shown a consistent decision pattern. While his approval rate reached a high of 42% in 2018, recent data shows a trend toward 30% in 2022. This shift reflects a departure from his earlier years, though his overall lifetime average remains stable at 37%. These fluctuations often stem from changes in the complexity of cases or the quality of evidence presented, rather than a change in judicial philosophy.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Casher'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 Casher? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Savannah hearing office
The Savannah Hearing Office serves a large population across Georgia, managing a high volume of disability claims with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently reports an approval rate of 52%, which provides a baseline for the region. You can expect a formal process focused on medical documentation and vocational testimony. You can visit the Savannah Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases through a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the Savannah Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 37% to 73%. This variation highlights why focusing on your own medical evidence is the most effective strategy. For preparation purposes, the guidance is the same regardless of which judge you are assigned.
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.