Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Scully-Hayes maintains a lifetime approval rate of 70%, which is 21 percentage points higher than the latest average for the NHC Baltimore office. These figures are derived from a docket of 12,584 lifetime decisions over nine years. 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 Scully-Hayes'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 nine-year tenure, Judge Scully-Hayes has demonstrated a consistent decision-making pattern. While her annual approval rates have fluctuated, they have remained stable, with an 80% approval rate recorded in 2023. Her lifetime average of 70% reflects a steady approach to evaluating your disability claim. This recent data suggests a continuation of her established pattern, though your case mix and evidence quality remain the primary drivers of any individual ruling.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Scully-Hayes'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 Scully-Hayes? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Nhc Baltimore hearing office
The NHC Baltimore Hearing Office serves you and other applicants across Maryland and the surrounding region. With a bench of six judges, the office manages a high volume of cases to ensure timely access to hearings. The office's latest approval rate of 49% reflects the diverse nature of the claims processed in this jurisdiction. You can visit the NHC Baltimore 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 NHC Baltimore office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 46% to 81%. Because of this variance, understanding the local landscape is helpful for your preparation. The guidance for your case 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.