Juatassa Sims v. Kenneth S. Apfel, Commissioner of Social Security

200 F.3d 229, 1998 U.S. App. LEXIS 38764, 1998 WL 1181205

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: November 6, 1998
• Docket: 98-60126
• Status: Published

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Juatassa Sims appeals the district court’s affirmance of the Commissioner’s denial of her application for disability insurance benefits, contending that the administrative law judge: (1) failed to afford proper weight to a psychologist’s opinion that she was severely depressed; (2) improperly excluded certain of her impairments in assessing her residual function capacity; and (3) should have ordered a consultative examination to assess her mental impairments. We affirm.

We lack jurisdiction to review Sims’s second and third contentions because they were not raised before the Appeals Council. 1 The first contention is without merit because the ALJ is entitled and expected to determine the credibility of medical experts and to weigh their opinions accordingly. 2 Concluding that the findings of the ALJ are supported by substantial evidence, the judgment appealed is AFFIRMED. 3

1 . Paul v. Shalala, 29 F.3d 208 (5th Cir. 1994).

2 . Greenspan v. Shalala, 38 F.3d 232 (5th Cir. 1994).

3 . Villa v. Sullivan, 895 F.2d 1019 (5th Cir. 1990).