Carr v. Commissioner, SSA

Summary

The Tenth Circuit held that Social Security disability claimants waive Appointments Clause challenges to the appointment of administrative law judges (ALJs) if they fail to raise those challenges during the administrative proceedings before the ALJ or Appeals Council. The court distinguished *Sims v. Apfel*, which addressed only exhaustion before the Appeals Council, and emphasized that requiring issue exhaustion before the ALJ promotes agency error correction and judicial efficiency. The court reversed the district court's remand for new hearings before constitutionally appointed ALJs, concluding that the claimants' failure to exhaust their Appointments Clause claims in the SSA proceedings barred judicial review of those claims.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Social Security disability claimants waive Appointments Clause challenges that they failed to raise in their administrative proceedings.