Courts’ Use of Zoom Hearings Plummets Post-Pandemic

The date of Feb. 9, 2021, was a grim time in America. The coronavirus pandemic was entering its second year and the Senate was beginning an impeachment trial of Donald Trump over House accusations he incited an insurrection at the Capitol weeks earlier.

Enter the cat lawyer.

During a remote Zoom civil forfeiture case in the 394^th District Court, Presidio County attorney Rod Ponton appeared online not as himself, but as a small white kitten with sad eyes and a moving mouth.