Sims v. Apfel

Summary

In this dissent, Justice Breyer argues that administrative law principles require exhaustion of arguments before the Social Security Appeals Council to preserve them for judicial review. He disagrees with the plurality’s creation of an exception to the waiver rule due to the non-adversarial nature of SSA proceedings, noting petitioner was represented by counsel who should have known the rule. He concludes that the Court of Appeals judgment should have been affirmed.