Russell v. Apfel, Commissioner

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 00-1456 FRANCIS M. RUSSELL, Plaintiff - Appellant, versus KENNETH S. APFEL, COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, Defendant - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Big Stone Gap. James P. Jones, District Judge. (CA-99-20-2) Submitted: September 29, 2000 Decided: October 12, 2000 Before WILLIAMS, MOTZ, and KING, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Vernon M. Williams, S. Scott Baker, WOLFE & FARMER, Norton, Vir- ginia, for Appellant. James A. Winn, Regional Chief Counsel, Re- gion III, Patricia M. Smith, Deputy Chief Counsel, Lori Karimoto, Assistant Regional Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISSTRATION, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Robert P. Crouch, Jr., United States Attorney, Julie C. Dudley, Assistant United States Attorney, Roanoke, Virginia, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: Francis M. Russell appeals the district court’s order granting summary judgment to the Commissioner in this action challenging the denial of Russell’s application for supplemental security income. We have reviewed the record and the district court’s opinion accepting the report of the magistrate judge and find no reversible error. Specifically, we find that the ALJ was under no obligation to inquire into whether Russell was disabled under 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpart B, App. 1, § 12.05(C) (2000). We further find that the ALJ appropriately applied the medical-vocational guidelines in finding that Russell was not disabled. We therefore affirm on the reasoning of the district court. See Russell v. Apfel, No. CA-99- 20-2 (W.D. Va. Mar. 31, 2000). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED 2