Ponton’s accidental morphing into a wide-eyed baby cat is not the first pandemic-inspired video call mishap – and likely won’t be the last. “If I can make the country chuckle for a moment in these difficult times they’re going through, I’m happy to let them do that at my expense,” Ponton said. Ponton told the newspaper he was “mortified”, although he appeared to see the funny side. In an interview with the New York Times, Ponton said he was using his secretary’s computer during the incident. Presidio county is on the US-Mexico border and includes the town of Marfa and much of Big Bend national park. Ponton was representing the state of Texas in the hearing, which reportedly centered on a person who had attempted to leave the US with contraband and illegally-obtained cash. I’ve got my assistant here, she’s trying to, but I’m prepared to go forward with it … I’m here live. The Ponton/kitten entity then interrupts Ferguson in a panicked drawl: “Can you hear me, judge?”įerguson responds: “I can hear you. They have ranged from the inadvertently hilarious to the career-ending.įaced with hearing legal debate from a kitten, Judge Roy Ferguson of Texas’s 394th judicial district told Ponton: “I believe you have a filter turned on in the video settings.

The coronavirus has prompted many computer mishaps, as many of the world’s workers adapt to working from home in the face of the pandemic. The filter, which displayed a kitten instead of Ponton’s face, was able to capture the lawyer’s horror and confusion, its eyes flitting across the screen as Ponton scrambled to remove it.

Zoom video conferencing filter