Lawyer appears as cat on Zoom call
WASHINGTON: A Texas lawyer appeared as a talking cat during a Zoom call with a judge, sparking worldwide delight at the latest video conferencing mishap of the pandemic work-from-home era.
The cat filter left lawyer Rod Ponton struggling to explain his situation to sympathetic judge, Roy Ferguson.
“I believe you have a filter turned on in the video settings,” the judge said.
Ponton — his voice appearing to be spoken by an increasingly anxious white kitten — asked “Can you hear me, judge?”
The judge responded saying “I can hear you. I think it’s a filter…”
“It is,” the nodding cat said. “And I don’t know how to remove it. I’ve got my assistant here, she’s trying to, but I’m prepared to go forward with it… I’m here live. I’m not a cat.”
The judge replied “I can see that,” before later sending out a tweet saying the incident underlined the legal profession’s dedication to justice despite the challenges presented by Covid-19.
Ponton, who was appearing in a civil forfeiture hearing, told US media “if I can make the country chuckle for a moment in these difficult times they’re going through, I’m happy to let them do that at my expense.” – AFP
