Cite as: 513 U. S. 374 (1995)
Opinion of the Court
though a private entity, was closely connected with federal entities. It was not until after we granted certiorari that Lebron first explicitly presented—in his brief on the merits—the alternative argument that Amtrak was itself a federal entity.
Our traditional rule is that "[o]nce a federal claim is properly presented, a party can make any argument in support of that claim; parties are not limited to the precise arguments they made below." Yee v. Escondido, 503 U. S. 519, 534 (1992); see also Dewey v. Des Moines, 173 U. S. 193, 198 (1899). Lebron's contention that Amtrak is part of the Government is in our view not a new claim within the meaning of that rule, but a new argument to support what has been his consistent claim: that Amtrak did not accord him the rights it was obliged to provide by the First Amendment. Cf. Yee, supra, at 534-535. In fact, even if this were a claim not raised by petitioner below, we would ordinarily feel free to address it, since it was addressed by the court below. Our practice "permit[s] review of an issue not pressed so long as it has been passed upon . . . ." United States v. Williams, 504 U. S. 36, 41 (1992). See Virginia Bankshares, Inc. v. Sandberg, 501 U. S. 1083, 1099, n. 8 (1991); Stevens v. Department of Treasury, 500 U. S. 1, 8 (1991).
Respondent asserts that, in addition to not having been raised below, the issue of whether Amtrak is a Government entity was not presented in the petition for certiorari. As this Court's Rule 14.1(a) and simple prudence dictate, we will not reach questions not fairly included in the petition. "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." Taylor v. Freeland & Kronz, 503 U. S. 638, 646 (1992). Here, however, we are satisfied that the argument that Amtrak is a Government entity is fairly embraced within the question
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