'I'm not a cat.' Zoom meeting anything but purr-fect when Texas lawyer couldn't turn off filter

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, Joe.My.God.

Lawyer Apologizes To Judge: “I’m Not A Cat” [VIDEO]
February 9, 2021

“I’m here live, I’m not a cat,” says lawyer after Zoom filter mishap

“I can see that,” responds judge

Link to tweet

'I'm not a cat.' Zoom meeting anything but purr-fect when Texas lawyer couldn't turn off filter

Nate Chute | El Paso Times
Published 12:59 p.m. MT Feb. 9, 2021 | Updated 4:25 p.m. MT Feb. 9, 2021

A Texas lawyer has claimed he is not a cat despite video evidence displaying the contrary. That said, we're pretty sure he's not a cat.

Judge Roy Ferguson of the 394th Texas District Court in Brewster County took to Twitter to share a link to a portion of a Zoom meeting that featured three lawyers. Two of the lawyers, Jerry L. Phillips and H. Gibbs Bauer, appeared as they do on their LinkedIn profiles.

But Ron Ponton, who is listed as Presidio County's lawyer, looked like a robotic kitten with large, sweet eyes. ... "Mr. Ponton, I believe you have a filter turned on in the video settings," a voice, likely that of Judge Ferguson, can be heard saying.

Ponton said his assistant tried to help him remove the filter but insisted that he was ready to proceed with the meeting. ... "I'm here live, I'm not a cat," Ponton said.

{snip}

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. This kitten just made a formal announcement on a case in the 394th (sound on). #lawtwitter #OhNo
@zoom_us

Link to tweet

[FirstLight]

1. lmao....I *just* posted this in FB and I NEED a TV series!

My friend replied he'd pay money to see this as a tv show.

I suggested the filter becomes permanent and he has to go through interactions as a cat whenever he's not in public.

he named it "Harvey Zoom Cat, Attorney at Law"


come ON internet! please make it happen!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. My work group has a meeting tomorrow afternoon. We're on Teams. I am so hoping

I can find a filter like this in Teams.

[FirstLight]

3. omfg

let us know! sounds purrrfect

[Dem2theMax]

4. The tone of the judges' voice just slays me!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. The important Zoom tip I'm looking for is: How do I get that cat filter?

For me, no can do, I'm certain. We are prohibited from installing unapproved software on our work-issued computers.

The important Zoom tip I'm looking for is: How do I get that cat filter?

Link to tweet

[Karadeniz]

6. This could make working from home and video conferencing so much more interesting!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. That Viral "Zoom Cat Lawyer" Has A Very Shady Past

That Viral “Zoom Cat Lawyer” Has A Very Shady Past

February 10, 2021

Reason reports:

A Reason investigation in 2014 and subsequent documentary reported that, as a prosecutor, Rod Ponton leveraged the gears of the federal government in a yearslong effort to level bogus drug charges against a woman in Alpine, Texas, ultimately succeeding at destroying her business.

The target, Ilana Lipsen, was his alleged former lover; she says she had one sexual encounter with him when she was an 18-year-old college student in the early 2000s. (Ponton, who is now 69, would have been in his early 50s.)

Lipsen told Reason that, in the aftermath, she was “disgusted with herself,” and although she noticed odd behavior from Ponton afterward—she recounted him driving by her house, for example—she cut ties.

Read the full article. As you’ll see, Ponton repeatedly had the DEA raid Lipsen’s smoke shop on bogus charges she was selling synthetic weed. When lab tests proved that to be untrue, he continued his campaign, ultimately having Lipsen and her mother arrested. And that’s just for starters. What a story.

As Reason detailed in 2014, the Zoom cat lawyer is a drug warrior who used federal agents to raid a former lover's business so he could level bogus charges against her.

No, really.

Link to tweet

DRUG WAR

The Zoom Cat Lawyer Used Federal Agents To Torment a Former Lover With Drug Raids and Bogus Charges

In 2014, Reason reported on the misbehavior of Rod Ponton, who has suddenly risen to internet stardom after being unable to turn off an adorable filter during an online legal case.

BILLY BINION | 2.10.2021 9:54 AM

On Tuesday, the bulk of the Twittersphere came together, with partisan divisions falling to the wayside, if only for a few brief moments in time. The source: a Zoom video recording of trial proceedings in Texas's 394th Judicial District Court, in which Presidio County attorney Rod Ponton appeared on-screen in the form of a wide-eyed kitten. Someone, it seemed, had gotten ahold of the filter settings. ... "I'm here live," he said. "I'm not a cat." ... "I can…I can see that," replied Judge Roy Ferguson.

So far, the clip has racked up more than 3.6 million views on YouTube and over 26.9 million on Twitter. "If I can make the country chuckle for a moment in these difficult times they're going through," he told The New York Times in an interview, "I'm happy to let them do that at my expense."

Such a light moment is a nice reprieve in a bleak era. It can also make us forget the enormous power people like Ponton wield, and the capacity they have to use that power for very bad things.

For example, a Reason investigation in 2014 and subsequent documentary reported that, as a prosecutor, Ponton leveraged the gears of the federal government in a yearslong effort to level bogus drug charges against a woman in Alpine, Texas, ultimately succeeding at destroying her business.

{snip}