Approval rates
Judge Raleigh maintains a lifetime approval rate of 51% across 18,936 decisions. In the most recent reporting period, the approval rate is 51%, which is 12 percentage points below the Tallahassee FL office average and 7 points below the national average of 58%. These figures are derived from a decade of judicial activity. 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 Raleigh'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 10 years on the bench, your judge's approval rates have ranged from a low of 44% in 2016 to a high of 55% in 2017 and 2018. Following a period of relative stability, the most recent data shows the approval rate holding at 50% in 2025. This trend reflects a consistent approach to case evaluation in the current reporting cycle.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Raleigh'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 Raleigh? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Tallahassee FL hearing office
The Tallahassee FL Hearing Office serves a large volume of claimants across the Florida region. With a bench of 6 judges, the office manages a complex caseload. The office-wide latest approval rate currently stands at 63%, providing a point of comparison for individual judicial performance. You can view the Tallahassee FL 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 Tallahassee FL office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 51% to 76%. While these differences exist, the fundamental requirements for proving your disability remain consistent regardless of the judge presiding.
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.