Approval rates
Over the 12 months to July 31, 2026, Mary Forrest-Doyle's 82% approval rate sits above the 63% office average, the 58% state average, and the 58% national average. These figures are based on 407 decisions. These rates reflect past activity rather than the likelihood of success for your specific claim.
SSA publishes no office- or national-level breakdown of fully favorable and denial rates. The 12 months are SSA's figures for this fiscal year to date plus the rest of the previous fiscal year; how we calculate them.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Forrest-Doyle'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
Since January 2016, Mary Forrest-Doyle has issued 3,734 decisions. Her approval rate has fluctuated over this period, reaching 86% in 2019 and 2020 before adjusting to its current level. The most recent 12 months sit above the 80% approval rate recorded across her total decisions since 2016.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Forrest-Doyle'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.
About the Washington hearing office
The Washington hearing office is the most recent office on record for 33 judges, with the last recorded decision there in July 2026. The office maintained a 63% approval rate over the 12 months to July 31, 2026. You can find the full roster of judges on the Washington hearing office page.
Other judges whose most recent office on record is Washington
The Social Security Administration assigns cases randomly. Approval rates vary across the bench, with the 14 judges who decided cases here in SSA's latest file ranging from 32% to 87% over the 12 months to July 31, 2026. There are 33 judges whose most recent office on record is this one, 14 of whom decided cases here in SSA's latest file.
Judges with similar approval rates
These active judges' approval rates over the same 12 months (July 26, 2025 – July 31, 2026) are closest to Judge Forrest-Doyle's 82%. Two of them last decided cases in District of Columbia. With too few close matches there, the rest come from SSA's Philadelphia region and other regions.
- 83% Approval rate, last 12 months NaKeisha Blount
- 87% Approval rate, last 12 months S. A. Bryant
- 77% Approval rate, last 12 months John Kooser
- 77% Approval rate, last 12 months Christopher P. Grovich
- 82% Approval rate, last 12 months Yeline Quinones-Regalado
Rates within 5 points of each other are hard to tell apart at a typical caseload, so treat these as judges with comparable records, not a ranking. See Judge Forrest-Doyle and the three closest side by side →
Approval rates change with a lawyer
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.
Frequently asked questions
Over the 12 months to July 31, 2026, Mary Forrest-Doyle's 82% approval rate is higher than the 63% average for the Washington hearing office. An attorney can help you understand how to prepare your case for this specific bench.
Mary Forrest-Doyle has an 80% approval rate across 3,734 decisions since 2016. Her annual approval rate has varied over time, reaching a high of 86% in 2019 and 2020 before settling at 82% over the most recent 12-month window. An attorney can help you evaluate your claim's strengths.
No, you cannot request a specific judge. The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, making the judge assignment process random. An attorney can help you navigate the hearing process regardless of your assigned judge.
An approval rate is a statistical summary of past decisions and does not predict the outcome of your specific hearing. The strength of your medical evidence and your testimony remain the most important factors in your claim. An attorney can help you prepare your case.
