If you have been accused of a crime in the area affected by Harvey, don’t worry about your case right now. As of Wednesday, August 30, 2017. All of the courts in Harris County and the city of Houston are still closed. If you had a court date during this week, it will end up being rescheduled for sometime later. There is not much information out there right now as to when this will happen.
The Harris County Criminal Courthouse will probably be closed for the foreseeable future as the main lobby flooded and sewage backed up throughout the building. The intake division of the Harris County DA was moved to the Juvenile Courthouse across the way, but there were reports that the roof had collapsed and was flooding courtrooms. It is an open question when either building will be reopened. I have not heard any reports on the main civil courthouse at 201 Caroline nor the Harris County Family Law Courthouse. Given the amount of flooding in the area, I would assume they are both in the same boat. As of right now, nothing has been updated as to when cases will be begin being heard again, but jury services and the courts remain closed for the rest of the week.
The Herbert Gee Municipal Courthouse for the City of Houston was also flooded. As of Sunday, the entire basement was completely underwater and the central police building at 61 Reisner had been evacuated due to concerns with the structure. There have been no statements as to when it will reopen.
Montgomery County reopens Thursday, August 31st and will presumably start hearing cases next week. I will update this when more information becomes available.