Opinion · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Juatassa Sims v. Kenneth S. Apfel, Commissioner of Social Security

200 F.3d 229

Type
Opinion
Court
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
1998-11-06
Topic
employee-benefits-and-executive-compensation

*230 PER CURIAM: Juatassa Sims appeals the district court’s affirmance of the Commissioner’s denial of her application for disability insurance benefits, contending that the administrative law judge: (1) failed to afford proper weight to a psychologist’s opinion that she was severely depressed; (2) improperly excluded certain of her impairments in assessing her residual function capacity; and (3) should have ordered a consultative examination to assess her mental impairments. We affirm. We lack jurisdiction to review Sims’s second and third contentions because they were not raised before the Appeals Council. 1 The first contention is without merit because the ALJ is entitled and expected to determine the credibility of medical experts and to weigh their opinions accordingly. 2 Concluding that the findings of the ALJ are supported by substantial evidence, the judgment appealed is AFFIRMED. 3 1 . Paul v. Shalala, 29 F.3d 208 (5th Cir. 1994). 2 .

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Cited by
9 opinions
SIMS v. APFEL,200 F.3d 229(5th Cir. 1998)
JUATASSA SIMS, PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT, v. KENNETH S. APFEL, COMMISSIONER OF
SOCIAL SECURITY, DEFENDANT-APPELLEE.
No. 98-60126
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
November 6, 1998
Gary R. Parvin, Coffeeville, MS, Chantal J. Harrington, Sarah Harriet Bohr, Jacksonville, FL, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Scott E. Heffington, Dennis R. Williams, Mary Ann Sloan, Joseph P. Palermo, III, Social Security Administration, Office of the General Counsel, Atlanta, GA, James William Warren, Jr., Calvin D. Buchanan, Oxford, MS, for Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court, for the Northern District of Mississippi.
Before POLITZ, Chief Judge, STEWART and PARKER, Circuit Judges.Page 230
PER CURIAM:
[1] Juatassa Sims appeals the district court's affirmance of the Commissioner's denial of her application for disability insurance benefits, contending that the administrative law judge: (1) failed to afford proper weight to a psychologist's opinion that she was severely depressed; (2) improperly excluded certain of her impairments in assessing her residual function capacity; and (3) should have ordered a consultative examination to assess her mental impairments. We affirm.

[2] We lack jurisdiction to review Sims's second and third contentions because they were not raised before the Appeals Council.1The first contention is without merit because the ALJ is entitled and expected to determine the credibility of medical experts and to weigh their opinions accordingly.2Concluding that the findings of the ALJ are supported by substantial evidence, the judgment appealed is AFFIRMED.3
  1. Paul v. Shalala,29 F.3d 208(5th Cir. 1994). ↩
  2. Greenspan v. Shalala,38 F.3d 232(5th Cir. 1994). ↩
  3. Villa v. Sullivan,895 F.2d 1019(5th Cir. 1990). ↩