Frank H. McCarthy
Judge McCarthy no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge McCarthy decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
The judge treats a misidentified Dictionary of Occupational Titles code or similar technical mismatch in the vocational expert's testimony as harmless unless the claimant can show it actually affected the outcome, rather than as automatic grounds for remand.
“Although the vocational expert referred to an incorrect DOT number, Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate how citing to the wrong DOT number but naming the proper job title affected the outcome of this case. The misstatement by the vocational expert does not constitute reversible error.”
Procedural preferences
In Social Security appeals, the judge requires the administrative law judge's own written decision -- not the Commissioner's litigation brief -- to supply the specific, evidence-linked reasons for a credibility finding; a conclusory or boilerplate explanation will not be rescued by after-the-fact justifications offered on appeal.
“The court may not create or adopt post-hoc rationalizations to support the ALJ's decision that are not apparent from the ALJ's decision itself.”
Cautions
The judge will not reweigh conflicting medical opinions or substitute his own judgment for the administrative law judge's, even where a treating physician's opinion is only partially credited, so long as the explanation given is tied to specific record evidence such as the absence of surgery, physical therapy, or narcotic pain management.
“Plaintiff essentially asks the court to reweigh the evidence. This it cannot do.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the reasons discussed below, the Court AFFIRMS the decision of the Commissioner.”
“The court finds that the denial decision should be REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings as set out herein.”
“Accordingly, the decision of the Commissioner finding Plaintiff not disabled is AFFIRMED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
As a magistrate judge, McCarthy carried his own consent-jurisdiction docket -- dominated by Social Security disability appeals -- alongside frequent referral-magistrate work (Reports and Recommendations, discovery disputes, settlement conferences) in the district judges' civil, prisoner, and criminal cases; he was seen as the referral magistrate on several of a district judge's sampled 2019-filed cases in an earlier build of this court. This record reports only his own signed dispositive rulings on the consent Social Security docket.
A historical record
Judge McCarthy no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.