Approval rates
Comparing a judge's approval rate to office and national benchmarks provides a clear view of their historical decision-making. Judge Narvil's 45% lifetime approval rate is derived from a substantial docket of 21,853 decisions. In the most recent reporting period, his approval rate was 47%. These figures provide a baseline for understanding the judicial environment at the Jackson office.
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 Narvil'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 10-year tenure, Judge Narvil has maintained a consistent approach to disability claims. His yearly approval rates have fluctuated, reaching 39% in 2023 and 50% in 2025. These shifts often reflect changes in the complexity of cases or the quality of medical evidence presented. The recent data suggests a return to his long-term average, indicating a stable decision-making pattern.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Narvil'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.
Other judges at this hearing office
The SSA uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Across the Jackson Hearing Office, the 4 judges on the bench have lifetime approval rates ranging from 45% to 60%. Because each judge brings a unique perspective to the hearing room, understanding the office-wide environment is helpful for your preparation.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.