Approval rates
Judge Sprague maintains a lifetime approval rate of 68% based on 22,161 decisions. In the most recent reporting period, his approval rate reached 77%, which is 20 points higher than the Ft Lauderdale office average and 10 points above the national average. These figures provide a statistical look at his tenure, though they do not guarantee a specific outcome for your 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 Sprague'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, your judge has seen his approval rate trend from 51% in 2016 to 79% in 2025. While the latest period shows a 77% approval rate, the long-term data indicates a judge who has refined his decision-making process throughout his career. This pattern reflects a stable judicial approach that has evolved since his early years in the role.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Sprague'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 Sprague? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Ft Lauderdale hearing office
The Ft Lauderdale Hearing Office serves a large population of claimants across Florida. With an office-wide latest approval rate of 48%, it is one of the busier hubs in the region. You can expect a review of your medical and vocational evidence. You can see the Ft Lauderdale 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. Across the Ft Lauderdale office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 36% to 68%. Because this variance exists, it is important to understand that the judge you draw can influence the context of your hearing.
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.