Approval rates
Evaluating your chances begins with understanding how a judge's history compares to broader benchmarks. Judge Morris has presided over 15,449 lifetime decisions during his 10 years on the bench. His latest approval rate of 46% currently tracks 9 percentage points below 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 Morris'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 decade of service, the approval patterns for Judge Morris have shown notable shifts. After reaching a peak of 61% in 2017, the annual approval rate experienced a period of decline, reaching a low of 39% in 2022. Recent data indicates a stabilization, with the most recent reporting period showing a 46% approval rate. This trend reflects a return toward his long-term average following a period of variance in case outcomes.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Morris'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 Morris? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Jacksonville hearing office
The Jacksonville Hearing Office serves a large population across Florida, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains a latest approval rate of 54%. You can visit the Jacksonville 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 Judge Morris is essentially random. Within the Jacksonville Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 38% to 70%. Because this variance exists, understanding the local office environment is a standard part of your hearing preparation.
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.