Posner On Templates

     Judge Richard Posner sits on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He is little known to the public but widely admired by attorneys for his original thinking and extraordinary writing skills. Judge Posner has taken a special interest in the Social Security appeals he hears. He finds the templates that Social Security is using for producing Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) decisions to be seriously troublesome. His most recent opinion on this subject is Bjornson v. Astrue, issued on January 31, 2012. The Bjornson case was remanded.

     Posner is not just admired by attorneys in private practice. He is admired by other judges. These templates are potentially a real problem for Social Security.

     By the way, Bjornson has a Chiari malformation. What is a case like this doing in the Court of Appeals, for goodness sake? Chiari malformations are a serious matter. This case should have been paid much, much earlier. Yes, I know there are people who have a Chiari malformation who have no symptoms but that does not change the seriousness of a Chiari malformation. Also, by the way, Chiari malformations aren't that rare.About one person in a thousand has a Chiari malformation.