(SS) Barrera v. Commissioner of Social Security

I. Introduction

17 Plaintiff Abel Barrera seeks judicial review of a final decision of the Commissioner of 18 Social Security denying his application for supplemental security income pursuant to Title XVI of 19 the Social Security Act.1

II. Factual and Procedural Background

21 Plaintiff applied for benefits on July 27, 2021. The Commissioner denied the applications 22 initially on December 3, 2021, and on reconsideration on February 28, 2022. AR 102, 126. Plaintiff 23 appeared for a hearing before an ALJ on January 5, 2023. AR 44. The ALJ issued an unfavorable 24 decision on January 31, 2023. AR 25. The Appeals Council denied review and this appeal 25 followed.

27 28 1 The parties did not consent to the jurisdiction of a United States Magistrate Judge. Docs. 9, 10.

III. The Disability Standard

Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §405(g), this court has the authority to review a decision by the

Commissioner denying a claimant disability benefits. “This court may set aside the

Commissioner’s denial of disability insurance benefits when the ALJ’s findings are based on legal

error or are not supported by substantial evidence in the…