Craig

MEMORANDUM *****

Sheila M. Craig appeals the district court’s judgment affirming the Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of Craig’s application for Supplemental Security Income. “We review the district court[’]s decision de novo and therefore must independently determine whether the Commissioner’s decision (1) is free of legal error and (2) is supported by substantial evidence.” Smolen v. Chater, 80 F.3d 1273, 1279 (9th Cir.1996).

The Commissioner’s denial was based on the decision of an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”), who found that Craig’s impairments — carpal-tunnel syndrome and back pain — were severe, but that they did not prevent her from working as a telemarketer. Craig argues that, in making those findings, the ALJ (1) deprived her of a fair hearing by “foreclosing” her testimony, (2) erroneously concluded that her subjective complaints of pain and the side effects of her medication were “only partially credible,” and (3) erroneously relied on the testimony of a vocational expert that conflicted with the Selected Characteristics of Occupations Defined in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (“SCO”). We agree with the second contention and, consequently, need not…