Dock Merrell v. John W. Gardner, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare

THORNBERRY, Circuit Judge:

In 1965 Dock Merrell, an illiterate Negro from Wilkinson County, Georgia, applied for Social Security old-age benefits. The District Office of the Social Security Administration disallowed his claim on the ground that he was born on December 30, 1904 and therefore had not reached the required age of sixty-two. Appellant then pursued his administrative remedies and won a determination from a hearing examiner that he was born on December 30, 1901. Insisting that he was born on December 30, 1900, he took his case to the Appeals Council. That body rendered a final…