Minnie Moore v. Commissioner of Social Security

MEMORANDUM

Minnie Moore appeals the district court’s judgment affirming the Commissioner of Social Security’s decision finding her not eligible for disability and supplemental security income benefits prior to November 18, 2004. None of the six issues she raises requires reversal.

First, we are not persuaded that the ALJ failed to properly consider Moore’s borderline intellectual functioning. The only medical evidence of such an impairment was a diagnosis by Dr. William Spindell, an examining psychologist, who nonetheless opined that Moore had “the requisite cognitive skills to employ these [skills] in the labor market should her medical conditions permit.” Thus, the ALJ did not err in declining to find Moore’s borderline intellectual functioning to be a severe impairment. See 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1521 & 416.921 (defining severe impairments as those that limit a claimant’s “ability to do basic work activities”). The ALJ was also not required to assess in detail whether Moore’s combined impairments met or medically equaled a listed impairment because she did not “present[ ] evidence in an effort to establish equivalence.” Burch v. Barnhart, 400 F.3d 676, 688 (9th Cir.2005). Finally,…