Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks helps you understand the environment of your hearing. While the Covington GA Hearing Office maintains a recent approval rate of 68%, Judge Glover's latest period shows a 51% approval rate. This remains 18 percentage points below the national average of 58%. These statistics are derived from a significant docket of 19,401 lifetime decisions. 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 Glover'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 Glover has navigated a shifting landscape of case outcomes. Her approval rate experienced a notable dip between 2018 and 2019, reaching a low of 32%, before beginning a consistent upward trend starting in 2022. By 2025, her annual approval rate reached 52%. This recent shift suggests a departure from her earlier patterns, potentially reflecting changes in the types of cases heard or evolving standards for evidence.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Glover'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 Glover? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Covington GA hearing office
The Covington GA Hearing Office serves a broad population across Georgia, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains a recent approval rate of 68%, which is notably higher than the state and national averages of 58%. You should expect a thorough review of your medical records and vocational history. You can see the Covington GA 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 Covington GA Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench vary significantly, ranging from 40% to 71%. Because you cannot choose your judge, it is vital to focus on the strength of your own medical documentation. You can view the Covington GA Hearing Office page for more information on the office's broader bench.
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.