Approval rates
Comparing a judge's approval rate to broader benchmarks helps you understand the local landscape of your disability claim. Judge Eddins-Hill maintains a lifetime approval rate of 45%, which currently trends 9 percentage points below the Memphis office average and 13 percentage points below the national average. These figures are derived from a significant docket of 19,423 lifetime decisions, providing a stable statistical baseline. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for individual hearings.
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 Eddins-Hill'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, Judge Eddins-Hill has seen her approval rate fluctuate within a consistent range. While the rate reached a high of 53% in 2017, recent years have seen the data hover between 39% and 48%. The latest reporting period shows an approval rate of 44%, which aligns with her long-term career average. This stability suggests a predictable approach to evidence evaluation, where the recent trend reflects a continuation of her established decision-making pattern.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Eddins-Hill'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 Eddins-Hill? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Memphis hearing office
The Memphis Hearing Office serves a broad population across Tennessee, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate that serves as a local benchmark for you. You can expect a rigorous review process where medical documentation is the primary driver of success. You can see the Memphis 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 your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the Memphis Hearing Office, approval rates among the bench vary significantly, ranging from 45% to 73% across the different judges. This variance highlights why focusing on the strength of your medical evidence is more important than the specific judge assigned. You can find more information on the office's general performance on the Memphis 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.