Opinion ID: 784536
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Definition of Work

Text: 13 The Somsamouths assert that the simple word work had to be defined for the jury because, they say, without further instruction the jury could misunderstand the legal meaning of the word. We disagree. 14 We start with the obvious, almost banal, proposition that the district court cannot be expected to define the common words of everyday life for the jury. Were it otherwise, jury instructions would become a dense tangle of definitions that might please a lexicographer or an etymologist, but no one else, and that would, in fact, be disruptive, distracting, disconcerting and dysfunctional. As it is, the district court need not define common terms that are readily understandable to the jury. United States v. Shryock, 342 F.3d 948, 986 (9th Cir.2003); United States v. Hicks, 217 F.3d 1038, 1045 (9th Cir.2000). 15 But, say the Somsamouths, the average person might believe that work does not necessarily require substantial gainful activity of the sort that generates wages or other economic benefits. So much is true, and if that is the belief of the average person, it is a correct belief. See, e.g., Webster's Third New International Dictionary 2634 (1986) (defining work as activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform ... sustained physical or mental effort valued as it overcomes obstacles and achieves an objective or result); The American Heritage Dictionary 2056 (3d ed.1992) (defining work as [p]hysical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something). So, for example, people commonly speak about working around the house, although they receive no monetary compensation for that. And one might do work for a charity or a friend, which achieves great objectives, but which generates no income whatsoever for the worker. The latter concept was nicely encompassed in the question to the Somsamouths about whether they did volunteer work, to which they, of course, answered no. 16 Nevertheless, argue the Somsamouths, for SSI purposes that is not the case. In that they are incorrect, as a review of the regulations will demonstrate. For example, the very regulation that they cite points up the crucial difference when it uses the following words: If you are working and the work you are doing is substantial gainful activity, we will find that you are not disabled.... 20 C.F.R. § 416.920(b). Thus, the regulation recognizes the fact that substantial gainful activity is only a subset of work. The regulations thereafter give a more detailed description of the way SSA will evaluate whether the work you have done is also substantial gainful activity. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1574; see also 20 C.F.R. § 416.972. Perhaps more pointedly, and even more directly related to this case, the regulations state: 17 Even if the work you have done was not substantial gainful activity, it may show that you are able to do more work than you actually did. We will consider all of the medical and vocational evidence in your file to decide whether or not you have the ability to engage in substantial gainful activity. 18 20 C.F.R. § 416.971. 19 In other words, work is not an arcane concept in this context, and there was no need for the district court to define it further. If the court had defined it and done so correctly, that would not have been helpful to the Somsamouths. In fact, the district court's failure to do so gave the Somsamouths an opportunity to suggest that work really is a more limited concept or that the Somsamouths at least thought so; that opportunity was exploited by them. 2 There was no instructional error.