Approval rates
Comparing a judge's approval rate to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Shinn maintains a lifetime approval rate of 58%, which matches the current national average of 58%. In the most recent reporting period, his 66% approval rate outperformed the Akron OH office average of 55% and the Ohio state average of 56%. These figures are based on a docket of 30,284 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 Shinn'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 his 10 years on the bench, Judge Shinn has demonstrated a trend of increasing approval rates. While his early tenure saw rates near 49%, recent years have shown a shift, with the most recent period reaching 66%. This upward trajectory reflects changes in the volume or nature of cases heard in his courtroom. The latest period continues a pattern of higher approval rates compared to his career-long average.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Shinn'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 Shinn? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Akron OH hearing office
The Akron OH Hearing Office serves you across the region, managing a high volume of disability cases with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently maintains an average approval rate of 55%. You can expect a standard administrative hearing process focused on your medical evidence and vocational testimony. You can visit the Akron OH Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the Akron OH office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 44% to 60%. Because each judge brings a unique approach to evaluating evidence, your experience may vary depending on the specific judge assigned to your case. You can review the office-wide roster to see how these benchmarks compare.
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.