"Judge! I'm Not a Cat" - Lawyer's Urgent Plea That Made US Courtroom Burst into Laughter

Attorney Ponton, who has turned into a cat, rolling his eyes in embarrassment [Image source = Screenshot from YouTube channel '394th District Court of Texas']

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] A lawyer who participated in a hearing held via video conference due to COVID-19 became a hot topic after turning into a "baby cat" because he was not familiar with the program's usage.

On the 9th (local time), foreign media including The New York Times reported the funny yet sad story of a lawyer who suddenly became a baby cat while using the online video conferencing program "Zoom".

The incident occurred during a civil case hearing presided over by Judge Roy Ferguson in Presidio County, Texas. On that day, lawyer Rod Fonten, who was defending a client attempting to leave the United States carrying smuggled goods and illegally obtained cash, attended the hearing via video conference along with two other lawyers.

The problem was that instead of Fonten, a cute baby cat lawyer appeared on the screen. Unfamiliar with Zoom, Fonten did not know how to turn off the cat filter that was already set, and suddenly became a "baby cat".

Judge Ferguson burst out laughing and said, "Lawyer Fonten, it seems the filter setting is turned on in your video."

Only then did Fonten realize the situation and could not hide his embarrassment, letting out a startled scream of "Ahh." Fonten’s embarrassed expression was captured exactly as the baby cat on the screen moved its pupils around in a flustered manner.

The "embarrassed baby cat" image, shown to everyone for about a minute, reached its peak with the single phrase, "Judge, can you hear my voice? I am not a cat."

Lawyer Ponton transformed into a 'kitten.' [Image source = Screenshot from YouTube channel '394th District Court of Texas']

Judge Ferguson shared the video on his social media, saying, "These tough times have lawyers dedicating themselves to sustaining the judicial system, which led to this funny moment," and praised, "Everyone involved handled it with dignity, and the lawyer showed amazing grace. True professionalism."

This video, just over 40 seconds long, was shared on the court’s official YouTube channel and became a huge online sensation, surpassing one million views.

Lawyer Fonten, the person involved in the incident, said, "This was my first time attending a hearing via Zoom since the pandemic," and added, "This happened while using my secretary’s computer. Using the cat filter was never intentional, but if my mistake could make many people laugh, I am satisfied with that."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.