Who decides cases at this office
The panel of 10 ALJs at this office shows a moderate spread in allowance rates, ranging from 38% to 75% with a median of 57%. Because cases are assigned randomly, you cannot choose your judge, and each one weighs evidence differently. This variation means your file must be robust enough to stand on its own merits regardless of which judge is assigned to your case.
| Rank | Judge | Approval Rate | Total Decisions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Douglas G. White | 87% | 10,689 | |
| 2 | Marshall D. Riley | 77% | 24,812 | |
| 3 | Gentry C.M. Hogan | 72% | 20,723 | |
| 4 | Michael J. Davenport | 71% | 12,577 | |
| 5 | Keith C. Pilkey | 68% | 33,777 | |
| 6 | Charles R. Howard | 63% | 33,594 | |
| 7 | George L. Evans III | 62% | 10,005 | |
| 8 | Mary M. Renfroe | 60% | 4,515 | |
| 9 | Sherman D. Schwartzberg | 58% | 24,482 | |
| 10 | Mark Siegel | 53% | 10,033 | |
| 11 | John A. Pottinger | 53% | 19,418 | |
| 12 | John L. McFadyen | 53% | 6,303 | |
| 13 | Benjamin Burton | 47% | 19,345 | |
| 14 | Robin J. Barber | 45% | 22,090 | |
| 15 | Brian Battles | 43% | 16,426 | |
| 16 | Carolyn Keen | 42% | 18,176 |
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.
How long you'll wait
At Kingsport, the average wait from hearing request to written decision is 6 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
Because hearings at this office move quickly, you have less time to gather evidence than claimants in slower jurisdictions. You must submit all updated medical records, medication lists, and daily-activity logs well before the deadline, as ALJs rarely accept new evidence on the day of the hearing. Your hearing will typically last 45 to 60 minutes, where you will testify under oath before an ALJ. A vocational expert will often testify regarding whether jobs exist that fit your specific physical or mental limitations. You will have the opportunity to question this expert, which is a critical moment to clarify why your impairments prevent sustained work. A final decision will arrive by mail several weeks after the proceedings conclude.
Hearings at this office come up quickly, leaving little room for error once your date is set. While the 56% allowance rate is encouraging, the wide spread in judge decisions means that a well-documented file is your best defense against an unfavorable outcome. Organizing your medical history and preparing for the vocational expert’s testimony long before you walk into the hearing room helps ensure your evidence is ready for review.
Field offices that route cases here
If your hearing is at Kingsport, 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.