Which describes a judgment decided by a trial court without that case going to trial; an attempt to stop a case from going to trial?

• A. Summary judgment
• B. Writ
• C. Draftee
• D. Civil disobedience

Answer: (A)

A summary judgment is a court ruling that ends a case without a trial because there are no genuine disputes over material facts and the law clearly favors one side. The judge decides the outcome based on the written filings and evidence, so no live trial is needed. This is exactly what it means to stop a case from going to trial—the resolution comes from the judge’s interpretation of the law on the record, not from an in-person trial.

Writs are formal court orders directing someone to do or refrain from doing something; they aren’t judgments that decide the merits of a case after a trial. A draftee is someone who is drafted into military service, unrelated to court procedures. Civil disobedience is the deliberate violation of laws to protest policies, not a procedural mechanism for resolving lawsuits.