Tametha Jones v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: May 10, 2023
• Docket: 22-1333
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

USCA4 Appeal: 22-1333 Doc: 16 Filed: 05/10/2023 Pg: 1 of 3

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 22-1333

TAMETHA D. JONES,

Plaintiff - Appellant,

v.

COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION,

Defendant - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Charleston. Mary Gordon Baker, Magistrate Judge. (2:20-cv-02398-MGB)

Submitted: April 27, 2023 Decided: May 10, 2023

Before NIEMEYER, WYNN, and RICHARDSON, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

ON BRIEF: William D. Mayes, SMITH, MASSEY, BRODIE, GUYNN & MAYES, Aiken, South Carolina, for Appellant. Brian O’Donnell, Regional Chief Counsel, Katie M. Gaughan, Supervisory Attorney, M. Jared Littman, Special Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the General Counsel, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Corey F. Ellis, United States Attorney, Beth Drake, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee.

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PER CURIAM:

Tametha D. Jones appeals the magistrate judge’s order * upholding the

Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) denial of Jones’ applications for disability insurance

benefits and supplemental security income. “In social security proceedings, a court of

appeals applies the same standard of review as does the district court. That is, a reviewing

court must uphold the determination when an ALJ has applied correct legal standards and

the ALJ’s factual findings are supported by substantial evidence.” Brown v. Comm’r Soc.

Sec. Admin., 873 F.3d 251, 267 (4th Cir. 2017) (cleaned up). “Substantial evidence is that

which a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. It consists of

more than a mere scintilla of evidence but may be less than a preponderance.” Pearson v.

Colvin, 810 F.3d 204, 207 (4th Cir. 2015) (cleaned up). “In reviewing for substantial

evidence, we do not undertake to reweigh conflicting evidence, make credibility

determinations, or substitute our judgment for that of the ALJ. Where conflicting evidence

allows reasonable minds to differ as to whether a claimant is disabled, the responsibility

for that decision falls on the ALJ.” Hancock v. Astrue, 667 F.3d 470, 472 (4th Cir. 2012)

(cleaned up).

We have reviewed the record and perceive no reversible error. The ALJ applied the

correct legal standards in evaluating Jones’ claims for benefits, and the ALJ’s factual

findings are supported by substantial evidence. Accordingly, we affirm the magistrate

* The parties consented to the jurisdiction of a magistrate judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 73.

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judge’s judgment. Jones v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec. Admin., No. 2:20-cv-02398-MGB (D.S.C.

Jan. 26, 2022). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions

are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the

decisional process.

AFFIRMED