Margolin v. NAIJ · ¶2

Held: The Fourth Circuit violated the party-presentation principle when it decided a question much broader than the one respondent advanced. Federal courts adhere to the principle of party presentation—the “rule that points not argued will not be considered.” United States v. Burke, 504 U. S. 229, 246 (Scalia, J., concurring in judgment). As respondent conceded below, this Court has held that Congress intended federal employees to bring most work-related grievances to the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Special Counsel—not to federal district court. Respondent argued only that the specific claims of its members were not the kind of work-related claims that Congress intended to steer out of district court. The Fourth Circuit transformed respondent's argument that the CSRA's claim-channeling scheme did not cover its specific claims into one that the CSRA might not channel any…

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