US lawyer gets kitten Zoom filter stuck as he appears in virtual court hearing
A virtual court hearing in the USA has disrupted after one of the lawyers involved got a Zoom filter stuck on his video output - displaying him as a giant kitten.
A livestream from the 394th Judicial District Court of Brewster County in Texas showed one participant, Rod Ponton, as a big cat with just his eyes moving.
"Mr Ponton I believe you have a filter turned on in the video settings, you might want to... take a look," the judge leading the proceedings says.
The feline faced Mr Ponton replies: "Urr, can you hear me judge? It is [a filter] and we don't know how to remove it."
Mr Ponton said his assistant was trying to remove it, but couldn't.
"I'm prepared to go forward with it - I'm here live. I'm not a cat," he told the call, just in case they were fooled by the filter.
"I can see that," came the reply.
Whether Mr Ponton freed himself from the feline frontage is unknown but it seems the judge saw the funny side.
Judge Roy Ferguson, from the court, wrote on Twitter: "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.
He added: "These fun moments are 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. True professionalism all around!"