Enjoin

A court order that someone do a specific act, cease a course of conduct, or be prohibited from committing a certain act. To obtain such an order, called an injunction, a private party or public agency has to convince a judge that speedy action is needed in order to prevent irreparable harm or injury. The court will hold a hearing to consider evidence from both sides. If the court grants the writ, the injunction can be preliminary (the court will consider more evidence later, at trial) or permanent (but despite its name, a permanent injunction might not last forever).