The nastiest of technical difficulties….
The post Lawyer Blasts Pornography During Virtual Court Hearing appeared first on Above the Law.
Thanks to the pandemic, virtual hearings have become a welcome part of trial practice across the globe. Not-so welcome, however, are the technical glitches that often go hand in hand with lawyers’ and litigants’ virtual courtroom appearances. From the infamous (and hilarious) Cat Lawyer to defendants logging in to their hearings with unfortunate usernames like “Buttfucker 3000,” we’d thought seen it all.
We should’ve known better, because now unmistakable sounds of pornography have made their way into the courtroom, all thanks to a lawyer’s laptop.
This news comes to us from across the pond, where RollOnFriday details the embarrassing audio that one lawyer played during a remote hearing:
Recorder Jeremy Richardson KC was holding a plea and trial preparation hearing at Sheffield Crown Court for a case in which 13 defendants were charged with smuggling drugs and a mobile phone into prison.
Some of the parties were present in court, but others joined online via the common video platform (CVP), reported the Times.
An unnamed barrister said that Richardson had muted the defendants who were attending remotely from prison, which meant that when smutty audio began interrupting proceedings, the only possible culprits were the advocates taking part online through the CVP.
“There had been porn noises coming through on the CVP”, said the barrister. “It was definitely porn. Everybody in court heard it. It was loud and obvious”.
A lawyer finally stepped forward, admitting that sounds of seduction were coming from his computer. But it wasn’t his fault, you see — he’d allegedly been hacked! “It’s so strange how easily you can be hacked these days,” the culprit said, as he fumbled on attempts to mute his microphone.
According to the barrister, Richardson “got upset and abruptly ended the hearing for a week and said future hearings could not be done on CVP.”
Memo to lawyers: the only thing you should hear banging in a courtroom is a gavel, so please make sure you don’t get “hacked.”
Lawyer’s porn screws trial [RollOnFriday]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.
