Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Administrative Law Blogs -> Within the Scope

Administrative Law

: Within the Scope

Eighth Circuit: Hearing Subpoenas Not Required by the Due Process Clause

By Eric L. Lipman

In an interesting opinion issued today, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that Social Security claimants do not have an unqualified right to summon and cross-examine agency physicians who render unfavorable medical assessments in their cases.

The panel reasoned that because federal regulations qualify the right to obtain subpoenas in social security disability cases, and, in this case, another agency physician was available for cross-examination by the claimant, the Due Process Clause did not require the attendance of the author of the unfavorable report.

The panel?s complete analysis (and why it chose to side with the Second and Sixth Circuits in this emerging split of among the Circuit Courts of Appeal), is accessible here.

Full post as published by Within the Scope on July 09, 2008 (boomark / email).