Approval rates
The approval rate for Sandra R. DiMaggio Wallis stands at 63% over her 10-year career, a figure derived from 20,444 lifetime decisions. In the most recent reporting period, her approval rate matched this lifetime average, placing her 5 percentage points above the national average of 58%. These aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than predicting the outcome of your specific 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 Wallis'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 her 10 years on the bench, Sandra R. DiMaggio Wallis has seen her approval rates fluctuate, notably peaking in 2022 before stabilizing toward her long-term average. With 20,444 lifetime decisions, the data shows a judge who has maintained a consistent approach to case evaluation. While the most recent period shows a 63% approval rate, the yearly trend reflects a career-long commitment to Social Security Administration guidelines. These patterns suggest a steady judicial philosophy that has evolved alongside changes in case volume.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Wallis'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 DiMaggio Wallis? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Special Review Cadre hearing office
The Special Review Cadre serves as a specialized unit within the Social Security Administration hearing network. This office manages a high volume of cases, and its latest office-wide approval rate is 66%. You can expect a formal process focused on the medical and vocational evidence presented in your file. You can see the Special Review Cadre 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 the assignment of a judge is essentially random. Within the Special Review Cadre, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 32% to 63%. Because of this variance, understanding that your judge is one of several at the office is important. You can review the full roster on the 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.