Texas Judge Reminds Attorneys Not To Commit This Faux Pas In His Zoom Court
By Anna Gallegos
July 30, 2021
A federal judge in Texas sent out a friendly reminder that attorneys shouldn't get too comfortable when attending court from home.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Edison is overseeing the lawsuit brought by Texas and 21 other states against the Biden administration about the XL Keystone Pipeline. He recently filed some legal paperwork about an upcoming meeting in the case.
It's a pretty cut and dry reminder about attending court via Zoom except for the very end of the document.
Edison wrote:
One other note: you are NOT required to wear formal courtroom attire during the videoconference. You are, however, required to wear clothes.
Judge's final note to attorneys... you're "required to wear clothes" for Zoom meetings! #lawtwitter
— Carmen Castro-Pagán (@CCastroPagan) July 29, 2021
Link to order: https://t.co/hGx3NU6hhR pic.twitter.com/q3Bdp6Ietr
That's not what anyone was expecting. It also raises a couple of questions, like has the judge been accidentally flashed before in court? or do people routinely show up nude?
In Edison's defense, a lot of weird things have shown up in Zoom court proceedings. There's been a live surgery, a lawyer who didn't know how to stop being a cat, and a suspect appearing in the same room as their victim.