A Texas attorney accidentally left a kitten filter during a video conference call with a judge and it was not possible to change it, eventually answering a judge’s question about why a digital cat was being approached, saying: “I’m here live. I am not a cat. “
The coronavirus has caused many computer setbacks, as many of the world’s workers have adapted to work from home in the face of the pandemic. They range from inadvertently hilarious to the end of a career.
But attorney Rod Ponton’s accidental transformation into a wide-eyed kitten seems destined to achieve viral immortality.
Faced with the legal debate of the cute but concerned face of the kitten, Judge Roy Ferguson, from the 394th judicial district of Texas, told Ponton: “I believe you have a filter enabled in the video settings. You may want … “
The Ponton / kitten entity then interrupts Ferguson with a panicked slur: “Can you hear me, judge?”
Ferguson replies: “I can hear you. I think it’s a filter … ”
“Yeah,” the cat-faced Ponton replies. “And I don’t know how to remove it. I have my assistant here, she is trying, but I am prepared to go ahead … I am here live. I am not a cat. “
Ferguson deadpans: “I can see that.”
In the manner of good judges everywhere, Ferguson sought to use the example of human / feline fallibility as a teaching moment. It tweeted: “If a child used his computer, before entering a virtual audience, check the ‘Video zoom options’ to make sure the filters are off.”
He added: “These fun times are a by-product of the legal profession’s dedication to ensuring that the justice system continues to function in these difficult times. Everyone involved dealt with it with dignity, and the filtered lawyer showed incredible grace. True professionalism around! “