Approval rates
Evaluating a judge's history requires looking at the broader context of their career. Jerry Meade has issued 18,470 lifetime decisions over his 10 years on the bench. His latest approval rate of 34% trails the Huntington office average of 49% and the national average of 58%. 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 Meade'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
Jerry Meade's approval rate has experienced fluctuations over his decade-long tenure. After an initial period of higher approval rates in 2016 and 2017, the data shows a shift toward a more consistent, lower approval range starting in 2018. The most recent reporting period shows a rate of 34%, which remains largely in line with his established career pattern. This trend suggests a stable approach to case evaluation that has persisted for several years.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Meade'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 Meade? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Huntington hearing office
The Huntington Hearing Office serves a significant volume of claimants across the region. With a latest office-wide approval rate of 49%, this office manages a high caseload typical of the Social Security disability system. You should expect a formal process focused on medical documentation and vocational evidence. You can see the Huntington Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Because approval rates vary across the bench, it is common to wonder how your assigned judge compares to others in the same office. Regardless of which judge is assigned to your hearing, the fundamental requirements for proving disability remain the same. You can view the full list of judges at the Huntington 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.