Court Opinion

ID: 9436778
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 03:03:31.475884+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:24:26.848931
License: Public Domain

CUDAHY, Circuit Judge,
concurring in the judgment.
This is an extraordinarily close case. We have before us a careful and searching opinion by an experienced ALJ based on an extensive hearing and affirmed by a district judge of broad experience and proven judgment. These circumstances may generate a spirit of deference, whether technically required or not.
I write separately only because, although the majority opinion has discovered enough flaws to justify reversal, I suggest future caution in such matters as overruling the conclusions of the finder of fact about the reliability of witnesses. We must also be balanced in the respective weight to be attributed to the opinions of educational professionals in contrast to medical experts in evaluating issues such as that of safety. Both these questions play a significant part in the majority analysis, but I would emphasize that both ought generally to be treated in the future with appropriate discretion.
In spite of these reservations, since the issue here is so close and the majority critique so careful, I join in the result indicated by the majority.