Approval rates
Judge Kelley has maintained a consistent decision record over 9 years on the bench. Her latest approval rate is 26 percentage points below the national average of 58%. These figures are derived from a docket of 15,710 lifetime decisions. Aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than predicting your individual hearing outcome.
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 Kelley'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
Your judge's approval rate has shown a gradual trend, moving from 25% in 2016 to 39% in 2023, with a 35% rate in 2024. This progression reflects an evolving approach to case review over the last nine years. These trends emphasize the importance of presenting a well-documented case regardless of recent fluctuations.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Kelley'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 Kelley? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Billings hearing office
The Billings Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across Montana and the surrounding region, managing a diverse caseload with a bench of 6 administrative law judges. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 64%, reflecting local standards for disability adjudication. You should expect a thorough review of your medical and vocational evidence. You can see the Billings 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 Billings Hearing Office, the 6 ALJs range from 31% to 69% in their lifetime approval rates. Understanding the office-wide environment is as critical as reviewing any single judge's history. You can find more information on the Billings 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.