'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,' Ferguson tweeted. On Twitter, Ferguson posted a clip of the exchange and pointed out that, although hilarious, the virtual hiccup shows how attorneys and legal professionals are facing unexpected troubles as they make sure the legal process carries on during the pandemic. 'The judge figured out how to take the filter off and remove it, and miraculously my less humorous, old guy image appeared during the hearing,' he said. He was more than willing to go on for the hearing as a cat, he said, but he got some help before things got started. He never showed up as a cat before, though. Like other attorneys around the country, Ponton has had to use Zoom and other videoconferencing apps more often for court hearings during the pandemic and has had his share of mishaps, like not being able to sign in or his witnesses having trouble logging on. 'When I logged in to Zoom for the hearing, to my great surprise I was a cat,' he said.

Ponton, an attorney for Presidio County, told BuzzFeed News he'd logged on for the hearing from a secretary's computer. 'I'm not a cat,' he said, as the kitten made a piteous face, and another one of the attorneys looked up and smirked at the situation. She's trying to but, I'm prepared to go forward with it.' 'I don't know how to remove it,' Ponton said, as a virtual cat. One of the attorneys quickly grabbed his glasses to get a better look while the cat then started to animate, its eyes and mouth moving as Ponton tried to explain the odd situation.

Ponton, I believe you have a filter turned on in the video settings,' he said. The court hearing appeared to open with two attorneys and a cat ready to proceed until Judge Roy Ferguson pointed out the issue in a deadpan voice.

Download zoom cat filter