Approval rates
When reviewing the data for Judge Hammock, compare her performance against broader benchmarks. Her latest approval rate of 49% is 13 percentage points lower than the national average of 58% and 14 points below the state average. These figures are derived from a substantial docket of 18,122 lifetime decisions, providing a stable look at her historical decision-making patterns.
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 Hammock'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 Hammock has seen her approval rates fluctuate, moving from 58% in 2016 to 53% in 2025. This trend shows a period of lower approval activity in the middle of her tenure, followed by a gradual rise in recent years. The latest period reflects a continuation of this steady pattern, suggesting that your hearing outcome will depend on the specific merits of your claim.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Hammock'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 Richmond hearing office
The NHC Baltimore Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across Maryland and the surrounding region. It manages a high volume of cases with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently reports an approval rate of 49%, which aligns with the latest performance metrics for the judges presiding there.
Other judges at this hearing office
The SSA uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the NHC Baltimore Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 45% to 81%. Because you cannot choose your judge, focus on the strength of your medical evidence regardless of who is presiding.
Your odds change dramatically 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.