Approval rates
Judge Greene's approval rate stands at 86% over a docket of 7,977 lifetime decisions. Compared to the most recent reporting period, the judge's rate sits 23 points above the office average and 28 points above the national average of 58%. This data is drawn from years of consistent activity, providing a high level of statistical context for your review. 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 Greene'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 a 4-year tenure, Judge Greene has demonstrated a consistent approach to disability claims. Starting with an 82% approval rate in 2016, the trend moved to 85% in 2017 and reached 88% in 2018, before settling at 87% in 2019. This steady pattern suggests a stable judicial philosophy regarding the evaluation of medical evidence. The recent data reflects a continuation of this high-approval trend, which remains well above regional and national norms.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Greene'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 Greene? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the St Petersburg FL hearing office
The St Petersburg FL hearing office serves a large population of claimants across the region. With a bench of 6 judges, the office manages a high volume of cases that require meticulous documentation of medical impairments. The office currently reports an average approval rate of 63%, which provides a local benchmark for your claim. You can view the full roster of judges and their respective performance metrics on the St Petersburg FL Hearing Office page.
Other judges at this hearing office
The SSA utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the St Petersburg FL office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 38% to 86%. Because of this variance, understanding the local environment is useful, but the fundamental requirements for proving disability remain consistent. You can find more information on the St Petersburg FL 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.