Steven Briggs v. Carolyn Colvin

FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
FEB 09 2016
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
STEVEN R. BRIGGS, No. 13-35893
Plaintiff - Appellant, D.C. No. 1:12-cv-02117-MC
v.
MEMORANDUM*
CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Commissioner
of Social Security Administration,
Defendant - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Oregon
Michael J. McShane, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted February 5, 2016**
Before: THOMAS, Chief Judge, D. W. NELSON, and LEAVY, Circuit Judges.
Steven R. Briggs appeals pro se the district court’s judgment affirming the
decision of the Commissioner of Social Security, finding him not disabled within
the meaning of the Social Security Act, except for a closed period of time from
*
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).
September 7, 2006 through January 18, 2008. We have jurisdiction under 28
U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo, Molina v. Astrue, 674 F.3d 1104, 1110 (9th
Cir. 2012), and we affirm.
Briggs challenges the accuracy of the administrative record. More
specifically, Briggs contends that the district court erred in not investigating his
allegation that the transcript of his hearing before the administrative law judge
(“ALJ”) was altered to delete the ALJ’s ruling regarding Briggs’s period of
disability. Both the hearing transcript and the entire administrative record were
certified as accurate and complete. See 28 U.SC. § 753(b) (stating that a certified
transcript is “deemed prima facie a correct statement of the testimony”). Briggs’s
bare assertion that the hearing transcript was altered is not sufficient to undercut
the presumptive accuracy of that record. See Abatino v. United States, 750 F.2d
1442, 1445 (9th Cir. 1985) (noting that appellants have the burden of proof
regarding the accuracy of the appellate record supporting their appeal).
Substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s determination that Briggs
experienced a change in his residual functional capacity, an increase in his ability
to do work, and therefore a medical improvement as of January 19, 2008. See
Molina 674 F.3d at 1110-11.
AFFIRMED.
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