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Like any other day during in a pandemic world, Attorney Rod Ponton geared up for a civil forfeiture case hearing held over Zoom in Texas\u2019 394th Judicial District.[2]<\/a> However, this case would not go as planned when Mr. Ponton joined the hearing only to see his screen portraying a filter of the cutest white kitten over his face.[3]<\/a> In an interview with BBC, Mr. Ponton stated that before the hearing had started there was no cat filter over his face while in the waiting room, but once the case was called his face was replaced with the cat filter.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The 394th Judicial District Court of Texas posted a clip of the hearing on its YouTube page.[5]<\/a> This 42-second clip started with Judge Roy Ferguson stating \u201cMr. Ponton, I believe you have a filter turned on in the video settings.\u201d[6]<\/a> Mr. Ponton, still as a kitten, described that his assistant was trying to take off the filter and he was \u201cprepared to go forward with it.\u201d[7]<\/a>The infamous line the legal community will remember from this video is \u201cI\u2019m here live. I\u2019m not a cat.\u201d[8]<\/a> Mr. Ponton practiced as a cat attorney for about a minute before his team was able to remove the filter.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Following the fame of the video clip, Judge Ferguson provided a piece of advice to attorneys practicing in a virtual setting.[10]<\/a> Judge Ferguson stated that \u201cYouTube hears all and never forgets,\u201d so it is important that attorneys are aware that once a virtual hearing has ended the court is still able to see and hear the parties.[11]<\/a> Judge Ferguson also applauded Mr. Ponton and the other attorneys for keeping a professional composure during the hearing.[12]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n We can all appreciate the humor that arose from this filter mishap, but what can we do to ensure the same does not happen to us? A stable way to guarantee no virtual background or video filter appears when you are using Zoom is to turn off the settings that allow these functions. Follow these steps to disable the background and filter settings: (1) log into the Zoom platform; (2) access the settings option; (3) choose \u201cIn Meeting (Advanced Settings);\u201d and (3) disable the function for virtual backgrounds and virtual filters.[13]<\/a> Make sure your Zoom settings are set to \u201cpurrfection\u201d before you enter any Zoom meetings!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> See<\/em> 394th District Court of Texas \u2013 Live Stream, Kitten Zoom Filter Mishap<\/em>, YouTube (Feb. 9, 2021), https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KxlPGPupdd8.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> See<\/em> Daniel Victor, \u2018I\u2019m Not a Cat,\u2019 Says Lawyer Having Zoom Difficulties, <\/em>N.Y. Times (Feb. 9, 2021), https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/02\/09\/style\/cat-lawyer-zoom.html.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> See id.<\/em><\/p>\n [4]<\/a> See Cat Zoom: Lawyer Rod Ponton surprised to become internet star<\/em>, BBC (Feb. 10, 2021) https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-56009062.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> See<\/em> 394th District Court of Texas \u2013 Live Stream, supra<\/em> note 1.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n [8]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n [9]<\/a> See<\/em> Victor, supra<\/em> note 2.<\/p>\n [10]<\/a> See<\/em> Meryl Cornfield et al., At first, cat lawyer was embarrassed. Then he realized we could all use a laugh.<\/em>, Wash. Post (Feb. 9, 2021, 9:18 p.m.), https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2021\/02\/09\/cat-lawyer-zoom-filter.<\/p>\n
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