Approval rates
When evaluating your claim, it is helpful to look at how a judge's history compares to broader benchmarks. Judge Roberts has maintained a 66% lifetime approval rate, which stands in contrast to the 53% latest approval rate at the Franklin office and the 58% national average. These figures are derived from a docket of 5,503 lifetime decisions. 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 Roberts'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 her 3 years on the bench, Judge Roberts has shown a dynamic trend in her approval patterns. Starting with a 64% approval rate in 2016, the rate moved to 69% in 2017 before adjusting to 51% in 2018. This shift reflects the evolving nature of the cases heard during her tenure. While the recent period shows a different outcome frequency than the lifetime average, it remains a reflection of the specific evidence and case mix presented during those years.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Roberts'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 Roberts? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Franklin TN hearing office
The Franklin TN Hearing Office serves a broad population across the region, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains a process for evaluating medical and vocational evidence. The office currently reports a 53% latest approval rate, reflecting the collective output of the local judiciary. You can see the Franklin TN Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the Franklin office, lifetime approval rates across the bench range from 42% to 66%. This variance highlights why understanding the local environment is useful for your claim. For preparation purposes, the guidance remains consistent regardless of which judge you are assigned.
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.