As judges around the country gingerly reopen their courtrooms and invite lawyers, litigants and jurors back for business—sometimes as usual, but often still far from the normal routines of years past—they’re being confronted by an array of pitfalls, real and potential.

Will a surge of COVID-19 cases among the unvaccinated and forceful advance of the delta variant force renewed shutdowns? Will jurors and staffers be willing to risk a return? Are mask mandates and vaccine passports in the offing?