ANSWER: Summary judgment occurs when a judge decides a specific issue, sometimes the entire case, and that decision does not require a full trial. It is a decision made by a judge that is based on sworn statements and evidence without going to trial. It is a final decision by a judge designed to resolve a lawsuit before trial.

Louisiana state Sen. Royce Duplessis, a Democrat who flirted for months with the idea of running for New Orleans mayor but bowed out of the race in January, abruptly reversed that decision on Sunday evening, announcing he would enter the contest just days before the official qualifying deadline.

The case that would have determined whether one of the state's two majority-Black congressional districts was a racial gerrymander has been tabled by the U.S. Supreme Court.