FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION JUN 20 2011
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
RAFAEL BARRAGAN OCHOA, No. 10-15880
Plaintiff - Appellant, D.C. No. 1:09-cv-00018-SMS
v.
MEMORANDUM*
COMMISSIONER OF THE SOCIAL
SECURITY ADMINISTRATION,
Defendant - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of California
Sandra M. Snyder, Magistrate Judge, Presiding
Submitted June 14, 2011**
San Francisco, California
Before: SCHROEDER and BEA, Circuit Judges, and ANELLO, District Judge.***
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
***
The Honorable Michael M. Anello, United States District Judge for
the Southern District of California, sitting by designation.
Rafael Ochoa appeals the district court’s judgment affirming the
Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of his applications for supplemental
security income and disability insurance benefits under Titles XVI and II of the
Social Security Act. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.
Ochoa argues that the administrative law judge (“ALJ”) improperly
disregarded Dr. Carrillo’s opinion. This claim lacks merit. The ALJ provided
several reasons for rejecting Dr. Carrillo’s opinion. First, Dr. Carrillo examined
Ochoa only once, for the purpose of evaluating whether he could take the
citizenship examination, and not for the purpose of determining Ochoa’s ability to
work. Second, other physicians who treated Ochoa opined that his seizures did not
affect his daily activities and did not warrant any disability. Lester v. Chater, 81
F.3d 821, 830 (9th Cir. 1995) (“As a general rule, more weight should be given to
the opinion of a treating source than to the opinion of doctors who do not treat the
claimant.”). Lastly, although Dr. Carrillo noted that Ochoa could not remember
the date, time, or year, or make sense of figures or puzzles, Ochoa himself admitted
that when he did not have seizures, he did well with concentration and memory.
The ALJ’s specific reasons for rejecting Dr. Carillo’s opinion are legitimate and
supported by substantial evidence. Id. at 830–31.
AFFIRMED.
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