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Galveston makes plans to reopen courts following Hurricane Ike
9/30/2008 12:24 PM By John Suayan, Galveston Bureau
 | | Galveston County Justice Center |
GALVESTON - The Galveston County Justice Center will reopen for public services after being shuttered for a couple weeks in light of Hurricane Ike.
Galveston County officials anticipate judicial courts will resume their regular scheduled dockets beginning Oct. 13, according to a posting on the county's Web site.
Cases slated to be heard between Sept. 11 and Oct. 10 will be rescheduled for a later date. Jurors with appointments during the last week of September have been sent jury reset notices.
The justice center closed the morning of Sept. 11, two days before Ike made landfall on Galveston Island, in response to a mandatory evacuation call issued by Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas.
Nearby Texas City and League City were temporarily designated the county seats and sites of the district and county courts during a Galveston County Commissioners Court meeting Sept. 24.
An article published in The Houston Chronicle Sept. 25 reports that the courts will conduct business at the Jerry J. Esmond Juvenile Justice Center in Texas City and the Galveston County Courthouse Annex in League City.
Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough had to secure the approval of the U.S. Department of Justice prior to making the move.
The county also relocated several functions from Galveston to the mainland while the storm-ravaged city of 60,000 undergoes an immense recovery process.
Ike, a Category 2 hurricane, battered the Southeast Texas region with 110-mph winds and a 15-foot storm surge.
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