646
Stevens, J., dissenting
said that "[o]rdinarily, this Court does not decide questions not raised or resolved in the lower court[s]." Youakim v. Miller, 425 U. S. 231, 234 (1976) (per curiam). These principles help to maintain the integrity of the process of certiorari. Cf. Oklahoma City v. Tuttle, 471 U. S. 808, 816 (1985). The Court decides which questions to consider through well-established procedures; allowing the able counsel who argue before us to alter these questions or to devise additional questions at the last minute would thwart this system. We see no "unusual circumstances" that warrant addressing Taylor's § 105(a) argument at this time. Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U. S. 420, 443, n. 38 (1984).
The judgment of the Court of Appeals is
Affirmed.
Justice Stevens, dissenting.
The Court states that it has "no authority to limit the application of § 522(l) to exemptions claimed in good faith." Ante, at 645. It does not deny, however, that it has ample authority to hold that the doctrine of equitable tolling applies to the 30-day limitations period in Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 4003(b).1 In my view, such a result is supported not only by strong equitable considerations, but also by the common law, the widespread practice of the bankruptcy courts, and the text of § 522(b).
I
Rule 4003, which is derived from § 522(l) of the Code and in part from former Bankruptcy Rule 403, shifted the em-1 Rule 4003(b) provides: "The trustee or any creditor may file objections to the list of property claimed as exempt within 30 days after the conclusion of the meeting of creditors held pursuant to Rule 2003(a) or the filing of any amendment to the list or supplemental schedules unless, within such period, further time is granted by the court. Copies of the objections shall be delivered or mailed to the trustee and to the person filing the list and the attorney for such person."
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