Morgan
Morgan v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Thompson, J.
Opinion by Judge DAVID R. THOMPSON; Dissent by Judge NOONAN.
Plaintiff-appellant David Morgan (“Morgan”) appeals the district court’s judgment affirming the Commissioner’s denial of Disability Insurance Benefits (“DIB”) under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 423 and Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) under Title XVI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1381 et seq.
Morgan contends the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) erred in rejecting Morgan’s testimony as to his mental condition, and in rejecting the opinions of his treating psychiatrist and examining psychologist in favor of the opinion of a nonexamining medical advis- or.
We conclude that the ALJ gave clear and convincing reasons, supported by the record, for rejecting Morgan’s testimony. We also conclude that the ALJ gave specific, legitimate reasons for rejecting the opinions of Morgan’s treating psychiatrist and examining psychologist, and that those reasons are based on substantial evidence in the record. Accordingly, we affirm the denial of benefits.
BACKGROUND
Born in 1950, David Morgan is a high school graduate who also earned an Associate of Arts degree in math and history. Morgan worked…
Dissenting Opinion
Noonan, J.
dissenting:
This case illustrates both the difficulties created by our ease law and the difficulty of fairly assessing the work capabilities of a Social Security applicant whose major problems are mental and whose disability is due in part to alcoholism and other substance abuse. Under our case law the one factfinder who always has a chance to see the applicant is required to justify his conclusions with more rigor than we demand of juries. The understandable temptation — yielded to here, I believe — is to temper the rigor by letting the ALJ satisfy his obligations with reasoning that superficially accommodates itself to our criteria while actually subverting them. If we are to have a consistent rule of law in Social Security cases, we can’t acquiesce in pro forma compliance by the ALJ. If we are to grant disability benefits to those too mentally impaired to engage in substantial gainful activity, we cannot deny them to a man whose treating psychiatrist and examining psychologist have found him substantially impaired in social interaction and in ability to respond appropriately to supervisors, co-workers and the demands of usual work situations.