The summary judgment process provides a method of terminating a case before it is submitted to the jury when only questions of law are involved and there are no genuine issues of fact. When a party to a lawsuit cannot show that there is a fact issue for the jury to determine, the grant of summary judgment to the opposing party does not violate the constitutional right to a jury trial.

A summary judgment is often filed after the parties discover some facts in the discovery process, and one or both parties believe that the facts conclusively establish their right to prevail at trial, and that no reasonable jury could find the facts to be otherwise.

In Illinois, the summary judgment process is governed by the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure. This process allows a party to seek a judgment from the court without a full trial when there are no genuine issues of material fact in dispute and the party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Summary judgment can be granted if, after the discovery process, the evidence shows that there is no factual dispute and one party is clearly entitled to prevail. The motion for summary judgment must be supported by affidavits, depositions, admissions, and other evidence that demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. If the court finds that no reasonable jury could find in favor of the non-moving party based on the evidence presented, it may grant summary judgment. This does not violate the constitutional right to a jury trial, as that right is preserved for cases where factual disputes exist that should be decided by a jury.