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Judge to lawyers: Please get out of bed and put on a shirt for Zoom court hearings

Zoom conferences have become the norm during the coronavirus pandemic, but a judge would like attorneys to make sure they're dressed appropriately for court hearings being held on the online platform. (Getty Image) (Ariel Skelley/Getty Images)

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. ā€“ Casual attire can be excused for many of our work-from-home virtual calls.

But that can only go so far when youā€™re a lawyer Zooming into a court hearing.

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As courts hold some of their proceedings online to prevent spreading the coronavirus, Broward circuit judge Dennis Bailey described some of what theyā€™re seeing from the bench.

ā€œIt is remarkable how many ATTORNEYS appear inappropriately on camera,ā€ Bailey wrote in a letter posted to the Weston Bar Associated website. ā€œWeā€™ve seen many lawyers in casual shirts and blouses, with no concern for ill-grooming, in bedrooms with the master bed in the background, etc. One male lawyer appeared shirtless and one female attorney appeared still in bed, still under the covers.

ā€œAnd putting on a beach cover-up won't cover up you're poolside in a bathing suit. So, please, if you don't mind, let's treat court hearings as court hearings, whether Zooming or not.ā€

Since Broward Countyā€™s courthouses were closed March 16, the 17th Judicial Circuit says it has conducted approximately 1,200 Zoom hearings, involving a total of 13,771 participants.

Bailey also noted in his letter that Zoom hearings can take longer than ones held in a courtroom because of technology lag and the issue of ā€œpeople talking over each other, which challenges the responsibility to make contemporaneous objections.ā€

ā€œOften, lawyers are not looking at their screens but down at their files, their outlines and notes, or simply out the window, and cannot see the judge is hollering ā€œStop! Stop!ā€ because an objection has been made and the audio stays with the witness rather than obeying the judge,ā€ Bailey continued.

The judge concluded: ā€œIf all this sounds like a challenge, it is. But there is no such thing as an objection to Zoom.ā€

But yeah, best to make sure youā€™re wearing some pants.

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