Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime performance against recent trends provides a clearer picture of their current docket management. While the Morgantown Hearing Office maintains a 58% approval rate, Judge Crockett's recent period shows a 64% approval rate. With over 18,566 lifetime decisions, the data offers a statistically significant look at his history. 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 Crockett'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 10 years on the bench, Judge Crockett has presided over 18,566 decisions, showing a clear evolution in his approval trends. While his early years saw rates in the 40% range, the data indicates a steady rise, culminating in a 67% approval rate in 2024 and 64% in 2025. This recent uptick suggests a shift in how he evaluates case evidence or a change in the types of claims appearing on his docket.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Crockett'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 Crockett? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Morgantown hearing office
The Morgantown Hearing Office serves a broad population across West Virginia, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains a latest approval rate of 58%, consistent with national averages. You can expect a formal process focused on medical documentation and vocational testimony. See the Morgantown 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 Morgantown Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 49% to 66%. Because every judge interprets 20 CFR 404.1520 differently, understanding that your judge is one of several is important. You can view the full roster on the 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.