Harris

MEMORANDUM **

We affirm the judgment of the district court.

I. The ALJ’s Development of The Record

Whether the ALJ had a duty to request medical source statements is irrelevant to the relief Harris seeks: a remand for an award of benefits or, alternatively, a remand with instructions to the ALJ to consider the report by Dr. Berselli that Harris submitted to the Appeals Council. Thus, we need not decide whether an ALJ conducting a disability hearing has an affirmative duty to request medical source statements — a question not yet resolved in any of this circuit’s published opinions. We only need to consider whether the Berselli report warrants a remand.

II. The Berselli Report Does Not Warrant a Remand

A. Remand For an Award of Benefits

Smolen v. Chater, 1 Ramirez v. Shalala, 2 and Lester v. Chater 3 do not support Harris’s argument that we should remand for an award of benefits. We remanded directly for benefits awards in those cases because the ALJs had improperly discredited certain testimony, and when the testimony was credited, it was clear that benefits were due. Thus, there were no further issues or evidence to consider on remand. 4 Here, the ALJ did not improperly…