Opinion
Civil Action No. 08-cv-508-AP.
September 29, 2008
ORDER
Defendant, the Commissioner of Social Security, by his attorney, the undersigned Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, has moved pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) for a judgment with an order of reversal, with remand of the cause to the Commissioner for further administrative proceedings. The motion (doc. #15), filed September 26, 2008, is GRANTED.
Under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), this Court has the power "to enter, upon the pleadings and transcript of the record, a judgment affirming, modifying or reversing the decision of the Commissioner, with or without remanding the cause for a rehearing." See Shalala v. Schaefer, 509 U.S. 292 (1993). The Commission has indicated that if the Court grants this motion, the Appeals Council will remand the matter to an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The ALJ will be instructed to obtain, if warranted and available, a consultative mental status examination with psychological testing and/or additional medical expert testimony to determine the extent of what Plaintiff's limitations would be if she abstained from substance abuse, and a medical source statement about what she can still do despite her impairments. The ALJ will be instructed to explain the weight given to all opinions and/or testimony regarding this issue and determine whether substance abuse is a contributing factor material to any finding of disability. If the ALJ finds that disability is established when including consideration of substance abuse, then the ALJ will conduct any necessary further proceedings to determine whether drug addiction and/or alcoholism are contributing factors material to the finding of disability in accordance with SSA DAA Q A Teletype, EM-96200 (August 30, 1996).
Pursuant to the power of this Court to enter a judgment affirming, modifying, or reversing the Commissioner's decision with remand in Social Security actions under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), and in light of the Commissioner's request for remand of this action for further administrative proceedings, this Court hereby
REVERSES the Commissioner's decision under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) and REMANDS the cause to the Commissioner for further administrative proceedings as set out above.