Approval rates
Evaluating a judge's history requires looking at the broader context of their career. Judge DePrimo has presided over 21,437 lifetime decisions during his 9 years on the bench. His latest approval rate of 58% aligns with the national average, though it remains 7 percentage points below the current Tupelo office average. 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 DePrimo'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 9-year tenure, Judge DePrimo has seen fluctuations in his annual approval rates, ranging from a high of 71% in 2017 to a low of 54% in 2018 and 2019. Following these early years, his approval patterns showed a steady trend, peaking at 67% in 2024 before adjusting to 59% in 2025. This recent period reflects a continuation of his long-term average, suggesting a stable approach to case evaluation.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge DePrimo'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 DePrimo? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Tupelo hearing office
The Tupelo Hearing Office serves you across Mississippi and parts of the surrounding region. With a bench of 6 judges, the office manages a high volume of disability claims to ensure timely processing. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 67%, which is higher than both the state and national averages. You can see the Tupelo 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. Across the Tupelo office, lifetime approval rates among the bench vary significantly, ranging from 19% to 64%. This variance highlights why understanding the specific tendencies of the office is vital. You can find more information on the Tupelo 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.