Approval rates
The following data compares Judge Grissom's approval rates against the latest office, state, and national benchmarks. With a decade of experience and over 19,180 decisions, the judge's record provides a significant sample size for analysis. While the judge's latest approval rate of 59% remains competitive, these figures are intended to provide transparency into historical patterns. 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 Grissom'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 10-year tenure, the judge's approval rate has shown a gradual transition from the higher rates seen in 2017 and 2018 toward a more moderate range in recent years. The latest reporting period shows an approval rate of 59%, which aligns closely with the broader trends observed since 2023. This pattern suggests a consistent approach to case evaluation that has stabilized following earlier fluctuations.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Grissom'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 Grissom? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Knoxville hearing office
The Knoxville Hearing Office serves you across Eastern Tennessee, managing a high volume of disability appeals. With a bench of 6 judges, the office operates within a regional network that handles thousands of cases annually. You can expect a formal hearing process where medical documentation and vocational testimony are central to the outcome. You can see the Knoxville 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 the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the Knoxville Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench vary significantly, ranging from 13% to 67%. Because each judge maintains their own approach to evidence and testimony, understanding the office-wide environment is helpful. You can view the Knoxville Hearing Office page for more information on the local 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.