The space that Harris County uses for jury assemblies can only hold 60 people, when taking social distancing into account. But the courts need to call 230 or more people per jury pool.

The discrepancy has pushed Harris County judges to tour the NRG Center, a conference center that is part of a complex of buildings surrounding the Houston Texans' football stadium, said 152nd District Judge Robert Schaffer, who is Harris County's local administrative judge. Another option is the George R. Brown Convention Center, he said.

"To call juries, we need a much larger place to call them to," Schaffer said. "Options are limited: It's got to be a big, open space. If you are going to call 200 people in, you've got to have a really big space if you are going to put them 6 feet apart."

Time is limited to find a spot and ink a deal, he added. There are five grand juries expiring in July, and the county will need to conduct voir dire to replace them during the first week of July. To have the lead time to summon those prospective grand jurors to jury duty, the notices need to go out three or four weeks early, Schaffer said.

152nd District Court Judge Robert Schaffer

There's no telling how long the county will have to do jury selections in a conference center, but Schaffer guessed it could last until a COVID-19 vaccine or effective treatment comes out. The judges are thinking about using the conference center space to call the jury pool, divide them into jury panels and allow lawyers in cases to select their jurors. But the actual jury trial would still happen at the courthouse.

"It makes more sense to do the voir dire there the same day and get that done, and then send them home and tell them to come back to the 174th District Court in the criminal courthouse—or whatever other court it is that selected the jury," he said.

As the courts continue searching for a conference center, they're also getting ready to reopen June 1 for in-person proceedings. Harris County has submitted its operation plan to the Texas Office of Court Administration, explaining how it plans to keep people safe from infection. The city of Houston also submitted a COVID-19 operating plan for its municipal courts.

Read more: Things Will Change When Texas Courthouses Reopen: Judiciary Lays Road Map for After June 1

Judges and court staff will keep working from home when they can, and remote proceedings will still be commonplace.

"The county is investigating the ability to have computers or tablets at local libraries or JP courts to increase remote access for the litigants and the public," according to the plan.

The judges and staff, and everyone who comes into the courthouse, will have to answer questions about symptoms and have a temperature check. Face coverings will be required at all times in the courthouse. Courts can turn away people who refuse to wear masks. People should bring their own, but if they don't, the county will provide a disposable face mask as long as supplies are available.

Read more: Texas Judges Are Searching for Protective Gear Before Reopening Courthouses

Sneeze guards have already gone up in some criminal district courts, and the county will be installing them in other courts.

"The county will strive to provide sneeze guards for the clerks, court reporters, court staff and witnesses. The county will also strive to provide each court with face coverings and gloves," noted the operations plan.

Among other things, the plan describes extensive new cleaning procedures, the special protections for people in the high-risk groups for COVID-19, notes that elevator use will be restricted and talks about rearranging furniture in courtrooms to be 6 feet apart.

Court schedules are going to change, according to the plan.  Judges will review their dockets to see if they can handle cases by submission or remotely, and which ones really need an in-person hearing. Courts will stagger their schedules to reduce the flow of people coming to the courthouse.

"Each court will strive to reduce its number of in-person hearings and will strive to schedule in-person hearings in such a way as to maintain proper social distancing within the courtroom itself," the plan noted.

Harris County operations plan: