The courts
exhaustion of remedies
The requirement that you use an agency's own appeal process before going to court. Skipping it usually gets a case dismissed.
In full
Exhaustion gives the agency a chance to correct itself and builds the record a court will review. It applies to benefits denials, immigration decisions, employment discrimination charges, and prisoner grievances, among others. Courts excuse it where the process would be futile, where irreparable harm would result, or where the statute does not require it.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.