CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Judge Allen Baddour is now conducting court from his apartment.

"The new normal for me is I pull up to the end of the counter there and pull up my laptop and get to work," he says.

The Superior Court Justice for Orange and Chatham Counties sports a beard, dress shirt, and slacks, only putting on his black robe for certain cases. He works mostly from home to cut down on court personnel having to come to the courthouse and risk catching the coronavirus.

"It's going to mean that there's going to be at least one deputy in there. There's probably going to be a clerk and a court reporter," he adds.

His move shows how the pandemic has forced many antiquated judicial protocols to cease and desist. Instead of approving warrants in person, Baddour, 48, now signs them electronically on his iPad.

"So yes, it's a real court. I mean we're really conducting business. I bring the hearing to order myself. We don't have a bailiff there to tell everyone to rise," he says.

The state's Chief Justice has restored some court operations with modifications. They include having judges mark all seating and lines with six-foot intervals. Jury trials will be postponed at least until August.

"As you know a jury box closely contained...that if need be we'll be able to use alternate sites to hold juries," says Cheri Beasley, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina.

Baddour says several venues could pose as options.

"We may have to go outside a courthouse building to do it. We may have to have jury trials in a gym or in a movie theater," he says.

Judges will also have to reduce their dockets and calendar calls to prevent a crowded courtroom. The jury is still out on what other changes could come and last. Face coverings may be required in trials. However, Defense Attorney Daniel Meier worries that could interfere with testimony on the stand.

"One of the big things about jury trials and trials in general is judging people's credibility and seeing are they telling the truth, what are their mannerisms and how are they talking and masks pretty much cover that," Meier says.

Trials could also see more technology like video conferencing. Baddour says any changes can't interfere with due process. However, he knows beyond a reasonable doubt that courts will have to set a new bar on how to proceed.

"Where that line is...is hard to say. But I have no doubt that we will never return to a time in which everything is done in the courthouse," he says.