The court system in Houston ground to a halt after a virus hit 475 of the city's 16,000 computers.

The virus took down part of Microsoft Windows that handles the login process and may have just been an unlucky download by a member of staff. However it looks like the entire legal system will be shut down until Thursday.  While people can pay fines and conduct other court business,  judges will not call cases.

Gwendolyn Goins, spokeswoman for the court system, says she does not know how many cases have been affected. She said there's no evidence the virus was released deliberately.