Stephen M. Rios, Petitioner, v. United States Postal Service, Respondent, 878 F.2d 1445 (Fed. Cir. 1989)

Annotate this Case
US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit - 878 F.2d 1445 (Fed. Cir. 1989) May 23, 1989. Rehearing Denied Oct. 25, 1989

Before NIES, Circuit Judge, BALDWIN, Senior Circuit Judge, and BISSELL, Circuit Judge.

PER CURIAM.


DECISION

Stephen M. Rios petitions for review of the final decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board (board), Docket No. SF07528810178, sustaining the United States Postal Service's decision to remove Rios from his position as a letter carrier. We affirm.

OPINION

Rios attacks the administrative judge's credibility determinations. Credibility determinations of the trier of fact will not be overturned by this court unless they are shown to be based on testimony that is "inherently improbable or discredited by undisputed evidence or physical fact." Hanratty v. Department of Transportation, 819 F.2d 286, 288 (Fed. Cir. 1987) quoting Hagmeyer v. Department of the Treasury, 757 F.2d 1281, 1284 (Fed. Cir. 1985). Such determinations are "virtually unreviewable." Hambsch v. Department of the Treasury, 796 F.2d 430, 436 (Fed. Cir. 1986). Rios presents nothing, nor is there anything in the record, which convinces us that the board committed error in this regard.

After carefully considering Rios' arguments and the thorough analysis in the administrative judge's April 5, 1988 decision, we are not persuaded of any error, and we therefore affirm on the basis of that opinion.

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.