It’s “Claw and Order”.
A Texas lawyer was turned into a prosecutor by a nasty Zoom filter during a virtual hearing, leaving other participants on the call to stifle laughter as the judge tried to guide him through a solution.
“I’m here live. I’m not a cat, ”confused lawyer Rod Ponton whined like a tabby cat lost in a brief video clip of accidental species exchange – although his Zoom panel said otherwise, portraying him as a lovely blue-eyed kitten.
The 42-second clip was tweeted on Tuesday by Judge Roy Ferguson, along with some useful technology advice.
“IMPORTANT ZOOM TIP: If a child used his computer, before entering a virtual audience, check the video zoom options to make sure the filters are off,” wrote Ferguson, of the 394th Texas District Judicial Court, covering Brewster, Culberson, Jeff Davis, Hudspeth and Presidio counties. “This kitten just made a formal announcement about a case in the 394th century.”
The clip starts with Ponton already rendering a cat and Ferguson trying to solve the problem.
“I believe you have a filter enabled in the video settings,” said Ferguson. “You might want to, uh, take a look.”
The distraught “feline” assured Ferguson that his team was trying to remove the filter – but that he was willing to proceed with the case with or without whiskers.
“I don’t know how to remove it. My assistant is here, she is trying. But I am prepared to go ahead, ”said Ponton. “I’m here live. I am not a cat. “
The judge thanked Ponton for clarifying that he was, in fact, still a human.
“I can … I can see this,” said Ferguson.
The lawyer then continued to try to advise Ponton on the problem, but the clip was cut before the problem was resolved.
Virtual video conferences have become part of the daily lives of many people around the world since the coronavirus pandemic arrived – often bringing embarrassing technical difficulties or unsolicited glimpses into people’s personal lives.
Last week, New Hampshire lawmakers were forced to keep their animals out of the room during Zoom’s legislative calls, although it was not immediately clear whether law enforcement officials were also prohibited from becoming animals.