Approval rates
Judge Hurley's approval rate is evaluated against the latest benchmarks for the Atlanta Downtown Hearing Office, the state of Georgia, and the national average. While the office maintains a 64% approval rate, Judge Hurley's recent performance shows a variance of -19 percentage points compared to office peers. These figures are derived from a significant docket of 3,845 lifetime decisions, providing a stable look at historical trends. 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 Hurley'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 three-year tenure, Judge Hurley has maintained a consistent decision-making profile. The annual approval rates remained steady, moving from 44% in 2017 to 46% in 2018, before settling at 43% in 2019. This stability suggests a predictable approach to evaluating your disability claim. The latest period reflects a continuation of this steady pattern, which is a common feature among judges with this volume of experience.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Hurley'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 Hurley? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Atlanta Downtown hearing office
The Atlanta Downtown Hearing Office serves a large population across Georgia, managing a high volume of SSDI claims with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently reports an approval rate of 64%, which serves as a regional benchmark for your claim. You can expect a professional environment focused on the rigorous evaluation of your medical and vocational evidence. You can visit the Atlanta Downtown Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases through a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the Atlanta Downtown Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 23% to 69%. This variation highlights why every case requires a unique strategy tailored to the specific evidence you present. For preparation purposes, the guidance is the same regardless of which judge you are assigned.
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.