Lawyer faces cat filter mishap in Zoom call
ALPINE, TEXAS: When judge Roy Ferguson opened up virtual proceedings of the 394th judicial district court in Texas on Zoom on Tuesday, he was not expecting to see two lawyers and a kitten. The cute, blue-eyed “cat” in the bottom right corner was actually county attorney Rod Ponton, accidentally covered by a filter.
“Mr Ponton, I believe you have filter turned on in the video settings,” said the judge.
Ponton said his assistant was trying to fix the app’s settings. “I’m here live, I’m not a cat,” he said. “I can see that,” said the judge, whose district covers five counties in West Texas, including the town of Marfa.
As the video went viral on social media, Ferguson wrote in a tweet: “IMPORTANT ZOOM TIP: If a child used your computer, before you join a virtual hearing check the Zoom Video Options to be sure filters are off.”
The 69-year-old Ponton told Reuters that he was not sure how the filter had appeared.
“I logged into my secretary’s computer to appear at this hearing via Zoom, and when everybody’s ready, the judge calls the case and everybody’s face is supposed to pop up on Zoom.
“And everybody’s face popped up except mine. Mine was a cat,” he said. The judge helped remove the filter and the hearing proceeded, he explained.
Judge Ferguson called it a “fun moment”, a by-product of the legal profession’s dedication to ensuring that the justice system continues to function in these tough times.
“Everyone involved handled it with dignity, and the filtered lawyer showed incredible grace,” he said.
The video clip ends with others coaching the attorney on how to remove the cat filter.