Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance requires looking at both their long-term history and recent trends. Judge Diamond has a lifetime approval rate of 55%, which provides a significant data set for understanding their decision-making history. In the most recent reporting period, this rate has fluctuated relative to the NHC Baltimore office average of 49% and the national average of 58%. 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 Diamond'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 9-year tenure, Judge Diamond has presided over 18,540 lifetime decisions. The yearly trend shows a consistent pattern, with approval rates moving from 57% in 2016 to 57% in 2024. This stability suggests a steady approach to evaluating your evidence and medical documentation. The recent uptick in 2024 reflects a return to the judge's historical average, indicating that the latest period is a continuation of a long-term, predictable pattern.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Diamond'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 Diamond? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Nhc Baltimore hearing office
The NHC Baltimore hearing office serves you and other claimants across Maryland and the surrounding region. It is a busy office with a large caseload, requiring efficient processing of complex disability claims. You can expect a formal environment where the quality of your medical evidence is the primary factor in a favorable outcome. For more information on the local bench, see the NHC Baltimore Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases to judges using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment is essentially random. At the NHC Baltimore hearing office, the bench includes 6 judges with lifetime approval rates ranging from 46% to 81%. Because case assignment is outside of your control, understanding the office-wide environment is as important as looking at any single judge. You can find more information on the office-wide bench 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.