Sims v. Apfel

238 F.3d 597

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: February 2, 2000
• Docket: 98-60126
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

______________________

No. 98-60126 Summary Calendar _______________________

JUATASSA SIMS, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus

KENNETH S. APFEL, COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, Defendant-Appellee.

________________________________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi _________________________________________________ November 6, 1998 Before POLITZ, Chief Judge, STEWART and PARKER, Circuit Judges.

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).