Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Edwards holds a lifetime approval rate of 61%, which currently tracks 3 percentage points above the national average of 58% and 2 points above the state average of 59%. These figures are derived from a significant volume of 15,041 lifetime decisions. 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 Edwards'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 8 years on the bench, Judge Edwards has demonstrated a varied approval trend. Her annual approval rates have fluctuated, ranging from a low of 52% in 2018 to a high of 71% in 2022. While the 2023 reporting period shows a significant deviation, this reflects a limited sample size of 99 decisions compared to her typical annual volume. This pattern suggests that your case outcome is highly sensitive to the specific medical evidence and vocational testimony you present.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Edwards'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 Edwards? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Baltimore hearing office
The Baltimore (Maryland) Hearing Office serves a diverse population across the region, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an environment where procedural rigor is standard. You can expect a formal hearing process focused on the evaluation of your medical records and vocational capacity. You can see the Baltimore (Maryland) 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 Baltimore Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 46% to 81%. This variance highlights the importance of focusing on the merits of your own claim regardless of which judge is assigned.
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.