Approval rates
Evaluating the record of an ALJ requires looking at the broader context of their career. Over 10 years on the bench, Judge Peace has maintained a lifetime approval rate of 44%. This figure is measured against the Greenville Hearing Office latest approval rate of 65% and the national average of 58%. These aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than predicting the outcome of your specific 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 Peace'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
The career of Judge Peace shows an evolution in decision-making patterns over his 10-year tenure. After starting with an approval rate of 34% in 2016, his trend saw an increase in approvals, reaching 58% in 2023. While the most recent data shows a rate of 49% in 2025, this remains higher than his historical lifetime average. These fluctuations often reflect changes in the complexity of cases or the quality of evidence presented.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Peace'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 Peace? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Greenville hearing office
The Greenville Hearing Office serves a significant population of claimants across South Carolina, managing a high volume of disability appeals. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an overall approval rate that often exceeds national benchmarks. You can visit the Greenville 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. Within the Greenville Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 44% to 65%. Because of this variance, understanding the landscape of your local office is a standard part of case 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.