Damage to the Harris County criminal court building caused by Harvey will cause a shift to thousands of pending court cases.
In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, court officials discussed this morning where cases will be taking place after the storm damaged the Harris County Criminal Justice Center at 1201 Frankln St. in downtown Houston.
According to officials, all felony cases are being temporarily shifted to the Civil Courthouse at 201 Caroline St. and the Juvenile Justice Center at 1200 Congress Ave. Misdemeanor cases will move to the Family Law Center at 1115 Congress.
In addition, civil district, family district and county probate courts are being combined to accommodate criminal hearings.
Justices also addressed or plan to address other aspects of court that were affected by Harvey:
Jury service: Jury duty has been canceled through Sept. 15. People summoned before that date will not need to appear and will not need to reschedule. There’s no word on when jury duty service will resume, and people who are being summoned after Sept. 15 will have to call the Harris County District Clerk’s Office at 832-927-5800 or go online to confirm service.
Court dates: Dockets for people out on bond and charged with a misdemeanor or felony will resume Sept. 11. Male defendants are to report to 49 San Jacinto St., and female defendants are to report at 1200 Baker St. Docket information can be found with the District Clerk’s Office.
Bonds: Bonds will not be forfeited for anyone who failed to appear in court between Aug. 28 and Sept. 8. Information on bond conditions can be found with the Harris County Pretrial Services at 713-755-8700, 713-274-0920, or online.
Trials: Jury trials will be rescheduled as soon as possible. The court hoped to have jury trials in criminal bond, juvenile and family cases to resume after Oct. 1. Civil and probate cases have been postponed until after Nov. 1. Criminal trials will immediately resume when “jurors and attorneys are properly noticed.”
