Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your hearing. Judge Daughtry's 63% lifetime approval rate is evaluated against the latest office-wide rate of 53% and the national average of 58%. With a significant docket of 22,497 lifetime decisions, these figures offer a stable view of past judicial activity. 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 Daughtry'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 a decade on the bench, Judge Daughtry has seen fluctuations in approval trends. After a period of lower approval rates around 2021, the data shows a steady recovery in recent years, with the latest reporting period showing a 64% approval rate. This recent performance remains consistent with the judge's long-term average. The data suggests a stable decision-making pattern that has returned to historical norms following mid-tenure shifts.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Daughtry'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 Daughtry? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Franklin TN hearing office
The Franklin TN hearing office serves you throughout the region, managing a high volume of disability cases with a team of 6 ALJs. The office currently reports an approval rate of 53%, which serves as a baseline for the local jurisdiction. You can expect a standard hearing process focused on medical evidence and vocational testimony. See the Franklin TN Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your judge is selected randomly. Approval rates across the Franklin TN office bench range from 42% to 63%, highlighting that the specific judge you draw can influence the hearing process. You can find more information on the office's general operations on the Franklin TN 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.