An American lawyer has had a hilarious technical mishap happen during a court hearing.
When Rod Ponton virtually arrived to court in the 394th district of Texas he was using his assistant's computer and was shocked to see a cat filter was turned on.
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Despite his best efforts, he couldn't for the life of him get the filter turned off. Hon. Judge Roy B. Ferguson said during the court hearing: "Mr. Ponton I believe you have a filter turned on in your video settings."
Mr Ponton said: "Can you hear me judge?"
Judge Ferguson replied: "I can hear you. I think it's a filter."
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In what will probably be the most hilarious comment of February or 2021, Mr Ponton quipped back to the Judge.
"It is and I don't know how to remove it. I've got my assistant here and she's trying to remove it but uh...I'm prepared to go forward with it. I'm here live. I'm not a cat."
There's no word on how long it took for the glitch to be rectified but we know that Mr Ponton will forever be enshrined in hilarious internet history.
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When he was asked what his reaction to the video was, he said he was fairly embarrassed.
"Oh, that was just a mistake by my secretary," he told Motherboard. "I was using her computer and for some reason she had that filter on. I took it off and replaced it with my face.
"It was a case involving a man trying to exit the United States with contraband and contraband cash. All it was was a mistake. It was taken off and we had the hearing as normal."
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The presiding judge has encouraged everyone to make sure they are fully set up when they're preparing a Zoom call.
Judge Ferguson wrote on Twitter: "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."
He's also released a statement to LADbible, saying: "It is crucial to me that this not be couched as poking fun at or mocking the lawyer, but noting that it goes hand-in-hand with the legal community's effort to continue representing their clients during these difficult times, and at the incredible professionalism and dignity displayed by all involved."
But Mr Ponton isn't the first person to get into an awkward mishap with a live stream filter.
Getting to grips with said technology will prove more difficult for some than others though - which an Italian priest demonstrated quite perfectly while live streaming a Mass.
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After positioning his phone by the alter, he stepped back, ready to share the word of Christ in these uncertain and fearful times.
However, he inadvertently activated the face filters on his device, meaning that before he could even utter a word, some kind of alien robot helmet appeared on his head.
Seemingly none the wiser, he proceeded with his sermon as virtual arms lifted weights before him and a hat and sunglasses complemented his gown.
While the use of the filters was almost certainly a mistake, it did mean his words actually ended up reaching far more people than he ever could have imagined, with the clip being viewed more than 1.6 million times on Twitter.
Featured Image Credit: 394th District Court of Texas/YouTubeTopics: News