Approval rates
Judge Stallings maintains a lifetime approval rate of 62% across 19,417 decisions. In the most recent reporting period, his approval rate reached 74%, which is 4 percentage points above the national average of 58%. These figures provide a statistical look at his tenure, though they should not be viewed as a guarantee of any specific outcome.
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 Stallings'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 a decade on the bench, the approval rate for Judge Stallings has shown notable movement. After a period of lower approval rates between 2020 and 2022, the trend shifted upward, reaching a 76% approval rate in 2025. This recent uptick reflects a change in the cases heard or the evidence presented during those sessions.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Stallings'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 Stallings? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Spokane hearing office
The Spokane Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across Washington and the surrounding region. With a bench of 6 judges, the office manages a significant volume of disability claims. The office-wide latest approval rate sits at 72%, reflecting the local environment for SSDI hearings.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment to Judge Stallings is essentially random. Within the Spokane Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 48% to 78%. Because of this variance, understanding the general expectations of the office is helpful for your preparation.
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.