The hapless lawyer, center, and the upset judge, top right, in a screenshot of the hearing held via Zoom.
Virtual meetings via Zoom or other platforms have become de rigueur in the era of the coronavirus pandemic, but social distancing need not come at the cost of social decorum as a lawyer who attended a virtual meeting in his underwear found out.
The attorney logged in to a Zoom hearing with a judge and all was fine until he stood up and his computer’s camera revealed that he was clad in a button-down shirt and boxers, despite an attempt on his part to cover the lens.
The visibly upset judge called him out.
“Counselor, you are not wearing pants [and] you are in court,” admonished the judge.
“I am wearing pants, your honor,” replied the young lawyer, unconvincingly.
-Abogado
-Sí, la escucho
-No trae pantalones, está en una audiencia
-Sí traigo pantalones señoría
-Yo lo vi
🙈 https://t.co/Ij55WnWO8q pic.twitter.com/hx1bwKzcuO— El Universal (@El_Universal_Mx) July 16, 2020
“I saw you,” the judge replied.
A video of the scantily clad lawyer’s hearing has gone viral on social media, garnering more than 228,000 views.
Judge María del Carmen Cruz Marquina of Tamaulipas later said that it was the first time a lawyer had appeared before her without pants, but stated that court proceedings were not affected by the attorney’s wardrobe choice.
“I must tell you that the lawyer is a very serious and professional person. I believe it was an accident,” the judge said. “These are the circumstances of the new normal to which we are all adapting.”
Source: El Universal (sp)
