Alternative approaches to judicial review of social security disability cases: a report to the Social Security Advisory Board

Original publisher: Miami Beach, FL : Strategem, Inc., [2002] OCLC Number: (OCoLC)50031295 Subject: Disability evaluation -- Law and legislation -- United States. Excerpt: ... 34 look at the disability decision process. Federal courts are in principle the best assurance we have that a citizen will be treated fairly. But over the years the theoretical advantage of judicial oversight has become more limited in practice. District judges increasingly review disability cases not by themselves, but through established surrogates: magistrate judges take evidence, decide 35 on summary judgment, or remand to the agency. In FY 1999, magistrates decided over 36 40 percent of disability cases. While the use of magistrate judges is well accepted in this and other contexts, 37 they are in fact Article I rather than Article III deciders. They are often called upon to perform routine matters ( like overseeing discovery disputes ) or to make decisions in situations with repetitive fact patterns, like SSA disability cases. They are in effect administrative deciders within the Article III system. Indeed, in terms of selection 33 See id. at Tables B1 & C-4. 34 ASHAW ET AL See M. supra note 15, at 139. 35 Technically, the magistrate recommends a course of action to the district judge and the district judge has discretion as to whether to sign and enter the decision. See 28 U.S.C. § 636 ( b ) ( 1 ) ( B ). Magistrate judges hear SSA matters under 28 U.S.C. § 636 ( b ) ( 1 ) ( B ). The statute allows a district judge to assign cases to magistrate judges to conduct hearings and to submit to the judge proposed findings of fact and a recommendation for the disposition in the case. Any party has ten days to ask the judge to review the magistrate judge's findings and recommendations de novo. The recommendations may accept, reject or modify the magistrate judge's report in whole or in part. 36 Magistrate judges disposed of 6,132 social security cases in FY 1999 and 5,516 in FY 2000. Th...