‘I’m not a cat’: Lawyer shows ‘grace’ after Zoom mishap
Presidio county attorney using secretary’s computer appears as a feline in hearing, and video later goes viral
It was a dreary Tuesday during a pandemic, and we all needed a good laugh. Little did we know it would come from the 394th Judicial District Court in West Texas.
Presidio County Attorney Rod Ponton appeared before District Judge Roy Ferguson in a Zoom hearing — as a cat.
A filter superimposed on Ponton’s face, mimicking his facial expressions as if an actual cat were talking.
Ponton’s cute eyes blinked and his lil’ mouth moved as he said, deadpan: “I’m here live. I’m not a cat.”
But he was.
On Tuesday, Ponton logged onto Zoom from his office in Presidio, as he had so many times over the last year. The attorney had an 11 a.m. virtual hearing in the 394th District Court, which covers Brewster, Culberson, Jeff Davis, Hudspeth and Presidio counties in West Texas.
Ponton always tried to be professional when speaking to a judge. But, in a recorded moment that would go viral, he saw on the screen not his face, but his face transformed into that of a wideeyed, white kitten.
“Oh s - - - ,” he thought. He knew issues came up on Zoom from time to time. In past hearings, he’d seen the video or audio not work, or a witness struggle to get online. This was something new.
“When the judge called the case, everybody’s face appeared except mine,” Ponton recounted in an interview with the Houston Chronicle by phone Tuesday afternoon, “and to my surprise there was a cat.”
Ponton was using his secretary’s computer, he said, and neither had any idea what had happened to make him a cat. She has children, but he didn’t know if they’d been fiddling with the office computer.
“Mr. Ponton I believe you have a filter turned on in the video settings,” Judge Ferguson told him in a composed manner.
The judge and secretary helped him get the filter off. They carried on with the hearing, a civil forfeiture case. It was all a bit stressful, Ponton said.
The judge tweeted a YouTube video of the mishap later in the day, with an important piece of advice for our new virtual world: Check your Zoom settings before you log on, especially if a child last used your computer.
Ferguson added that “the filtered lawyer showed incredible grace.”
Thousands shared the video. Ponton saw it blowing up.
“Well, if I can make everybody have a chuckle at my expense, I’ll take it,” he said. “We’ve had a stressful time the last few months.”
He added: “It could happen to anybody, but today it happened to me.”