Florida Judge Tells Attorneys To Get Out Of Bed, Get Dressed For Zoom Hearings
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami/AP) -- A South Florida judge wants attorneys to dress appropriately for court hearings via Zoom and is telling them to get out of bed and put on some clothes.
Broward Circuit Judge Dennis Bailey made the plea in a letter published by the Weston Bar Association, news outlets reported.
"It is remarkable how many ATTORNEYS appear inappropriately on camera," Bailey said in the letter.
"One male lawyer appeared shirtless and one female attorney appeared still in bed, still under the covers."
Bailey isn't making any exceptions for lawyers lounging in the Florida sunshine, either.
"Putting on a beach cover-up won't cover up you're poolside in a bathing suit," he wrote.
Bailey, for one, said he won't hold a complicated trial over the video conferencing site, given the technology's shortcomings.
"Often, 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 "Stop! Stop!" because an objection has been made and the audio stays with the witness rather than obeying the judge," he said.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
