Approval rates
When evaluating your hearing, it is helpful to look at how a judge's history compares to broader benchmarks. Judge Jenkins maintains an 80% lifetime approval rate, which stands in contrast to the 54% latest approval rate at the Memphis office and the 58% national average. This data is derived from a docket of 16,702 lifetime decisions over seven years on the bench. 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 Jenkins III'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 seven years on the bench, Judge Jenkins has maintained a consistent pattern of approvals. Your judge's yearly performance has fluctuated between 76% and 86% throughout his tenure. The most recent reporting period shows a continuation of this stable pattern, remaining above the office and state averages. These trends reflect a long-term approach to case evaluation that has remained reliable.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Jenkins III'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 Jenkins III? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Memphis hearing office
The Memphis Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across Tennessee and surrounding regions. It is a busy office with a bench of six judges handling a high volume of disability claims. The office currently reports an average approval rate of 54%, which serves as a baseline for the local jurisdiction. You can see the Memphis Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the Memphis office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 48% to 80%. Because each judge brings a different perspective to the hearing room, understanding the office-wide environment is useful. You can find the full roster of judges on the Memphis 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.