Approval rates
Evaluating a judge's approval rate provides a baseline for understanding how they have historically handled disability claims. Judge Keller's lifetime rate of 42% is compared against the latest Columbus office average of 57% and the national average of 58%. With 12,110 decisions on record, this data offers a statistically significant look at his tenure. 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 Keller'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 his 7 years on the bench, your judge has seen his approval rates shift across different reporting periods. After a period of lower approval rates between 2018 and 2019, the data showed a notable increase in 2020 and 2021 before adjusting again in 2022. This pattern suggests that case mix and evidence quality play a significant role in your outcome. The recent data reflects a continuation of the variance observed throughout his career.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Keller'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 Keller? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Columbus hearing office
The Columbus Hearing Office serves a large population across Ohio, managing a high volume of disability claims with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 57%, reflecting the regional trends in disability adjudication. You can expect a professional environment focused on the medical and vocational evidence presented in your file. You can see the Columbus Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the Columbus office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 42% to 68%. This variation highlights why understanding the local bench is helpful for your preparation. You can find more information on the Columbus 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.