See Anderson v . Liberty Lobby, Inc ., 477 U . S . 242, 248 ( 1986 ) ( district court's task, in deciding whether there is a " genuine " issue of fact, is to determine " if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party " ); see also Elliott v . Thomas, 937 F . 2d, at 341 ( " whether the defendants did the deeds alleged . . . is precisely the question for trial " ) ( emphasis in original ), cert . denied, 502 U . S . 1074, 1121 ( 1992 ); Wright v . South Arkansas Regional Health Center, Inc ., 800 F . 2d 199, 203 ( CA8 1986 ) ( saying that this question " is . . . less clearly separable from the merits " than the question in Mitchell ); see also Brief for United States 18 ( " ( i ) n one sense, a ruling regarding the sufficiency of the evidence is closely intertwined with the merits " ).
