Justia Federal District Court Opinions

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