“Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears” is a blog series documenting the harmful impact of President Trump’s judges on Americans’ rights and liberties. It includes judges nominated in both his first and second terms.
Trump Fourth Circuit judge Julius Richardson wrote a 2-1 opinion that rejected the appeal of a denial of social security disability benefits based on mental disability. Judge Roger Gregory, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton and George W Bush, dissented from the July 2025 decision in Drumgold v Commissioner of Social Security.
What happened in this case?
Dawn Drumgold worked at the Social Security Administration (SSA). In 2013, she began to suffer symptoms of mental illness, manifested in feeling frustration and anger and, on one occasion, “snap”ping and walking off the job. She saw a number of doctors and other medical professionals and applied for disability benefits based on her mental illness. The most detailed reports and evaluation of her condition was provided by Shideh Sarmadi, a mental health counselor who provided therapy to Drumgold for more than five years. Sarmadi wrote that Drumgold was suffering from “bipolar depression and PTSD,” and checked a box on a form indicating that she experienced “recurrent instances of inability to attend work as a result of limitations imposed by depression, anxiety, or other mental health manifestations.”
The SSA, including an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), denied Drumgold’s disability application. She then took her case to a federal district court, which affirmed the SSA. The district court found substantial evidence to support the SSA and ruled in its favor. Drumgold appealed to the Fourth Circuit.
How did Trump judge Richardson rule and why is the result harmful?
Trump Judge Richardson wrote a 2-1 opinion affirming the decision below and denying Drumgold’s disability application. Conservative judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, who was nominated by President Ronald Reagan, joined Richardson’s opinion. They relied largely on the ALJ’s view that gave relatively little weight to Sarmadi’s opinion, noting in particular that several “special reports” by Sarmadi were overly conclusory and did not show that she was unable to perform activities of daily living.
Judge Roger Gregory strongly dissented. He explained that the ALJ and the majority had “failed to assess the persuasiveness of Sarmadi’s work” based on the important criteria of “supportability and consistency”, and that her special reports were sufficient to “meet the agency’s regulations.” The majority’s criticism of Sarmadi’s special reports, he went on, “directly contradicts the reason” such reports are “submitted in the first place i.e. in lieu of submitting a detailed report so a patient does not have to reveal intimate detail about her mental health history.” He found “similar deficiencies” in the ALJ’s failure to explain how activities of daily living “translates to a full workday” and the ability to “sustain full-time work.” Accordingly, he concluded, “substantial evidence does not support the ALJ’s conclusion” and the decision against Drumgold should have been reversed.
Trump judge Richardson’s ruling clearly harmed Dawn Drumgold, as well as others seeking disability based on mental illness, particularly in the Fourth Circuit, which includes Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and North and South Carolina. It also illustrates the importance of our federal courts to health, welfare and justice and the significance of having fair-minded judges on the federal bench.