Who decides cases at this office
The 13 judges at this office show a moderate spread in their allowance rates, which range from 49% to 86% with a median of 69%. Because cases are assigned randomly, you cannot choose your judge, and each weighs evidence according to their own judicial discretion. This variation means your file must be strong enough to meet the evidentiary standards of any judge on the panel.
| Rank | Judge | Approval Rate | Total Decisions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mary Forrest-Doyle | 81% | 24,463 | |
| 2 | Milagros Farnes | 78% | 23,530 | |
| 3 | Frances P. Kuperman | 72% | 3,498 | |
| 4 | Donald K. Neely | 70% | 21,906 | |
| 5 | William M. Manico | 69% | 26,344 | |
| 6 | Vivian W. Mittleman | 69% | 1,568 | |
| 7 | Melvin G. Olmscheid | 68% | 26,613 | |
| 8 | Robert Baker Jr. | 67% | 24,592 | |
| 9 | Gary Ball | 67% | 22,463 | |
| 10 | Leisha Self | 66% | 14,975 | |
| 11 | Michelle Crawford | 64% | 7,101 | |
| 12 | Tara J. Posner | 61% | 17,234 | |
| 13 | Donna M. Edwards | 61% | 18,463 | |
| 14 | Andrea McBarnette | 59% | 1,468 | |
| 15 | Tierney Carlos | 54% | 14,494 | |
| 16 | Clary Simmonds | 51% | 18,546 | |
| 17 | W. Clark | 47% | 857 | |
| 18 | Scott Massengill | 46% | 17,135 | |
| 19 | Robert W. Young | 44% | 3,511 | |
| 20 | Leslie Weyn | 44% | 1,009 | |
| 21 | Nelisbeth Ball | 43% | 14,911 | |
| 22 | Douglas M. Rawald | 39% | 1,736 | |
| 23 | Clark S. Cheney | 31% | 1,781 |
Former & transferred judges
SSA rosters change as judges retire, transfer, or move to national assignments. These judges previously decided Social Security disability cases from this location but are not on the current roster. Their full public decision records are on their profiles.
- Melissa Hammock
- Paul D. Barker
- Stanley K. Chin
- Laureen Penn
- Lawrence Levey
- David S. Pang
- Jesus Ortis
- Christopher L. Dillon
- Jeffrey Mastin
- A. Benton
- Yvette N. Diamond
- Kathleen Scully-Hayes
- Brian Lucas
- Paul D. Barker Jr.
- Michael J. Kopicki
- Ramon Suris-Fernandez
- Leroy C. Bryant
- Sandra R. DiMaggio Wallis
- Myriam C. Fernandez Rice
- Theodore Kim
- Gregory Moldafsky
- Sara L. Alston
- James R. McHenry III
- Paul Gaughen
How long you'll wait
At Baltimore, the average wait from hearing request to written decision is 8 months— versus a national average of 8 months. Here's how it's tracked month by month over the past 16 months.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.
Going to your hearing
Your 8-month wait is an opportunity to build a robust file that addresses the specific limitations identified by your doctors. You must submit all updated medical records, medication lists, and daily-activity logs well before the evidence-submission deadline. During your hearing, you will testify under oath while a vocational expert evaluates whether jobs exist that fit your residual functional capacity. The ALJ will lead the questioning, and you can clarify how your specific impairments prevent sustained work. A final decision typically arrives by mail after the proceedings conclude.
With a 66% allowance rate, Baltimore is a favorable office for claimants, but cases often fail when they lack a clear link between medical findings and work-related limitations. You can use the 8-month wait to pressure-test your file against the types of questions a vocational expert will ask, ensuring your evidence is ready for the hearing room.
Field offices that route cases here
If your hearing is at Baltimore, your case originated at one of the SSA field offices below — the local intake counter where you (or a representative) filed the initial application. Field offices don't decide hearings, but they hold your file, issue benefit-payment notices, and field the day-to-day questions during your wait.