Approval rates
You will find that Judge Waller has presided over 17,310 lifetime decisions during his 10-year tenure. Comparing his latest approval rate of 63% against the Mobile Hearing Office average of 73% and the national average of 58% provides a snapshot of his current decision-making environment. These figures represent a large volume of cases, offering a reliable statistical baseline for understanding his courtroom. 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 Waller'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 Waller has seen his approval rate fluctuate, with a notable upward trend in recent years. After a period of lower approval rates between 2019 and 2021, the data shows a consistent rise, reaching 66% in 2024 and 2025. This shift suggests a change in the types of cases heard or the quality of evidence presented in recent dockets. The latest period reflects a continuation of this steady upward pattern.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Waller'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 Waller? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Mobile hearing office
The Mobile Hearing Office serves a significant portion of Alabama, managing a high volume of disability claims with a bench of 6 judges. You will face a variety of case types at this office, where the office-wide latest approval rate is currently 73%. Understanding the local administrative environment is a key step in your hearing preparation. You can visit the Mobile Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases through a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Across the Mobile Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 54% to 76%. While these differences exist, the core requirements for proving your disability remain consistent regardless of which judge presides. You can find more information on the Mobile Hearing Office page.
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.