Colombia
Judge suspended for hearing from bed in underwear
The judge lies in bed smoking
© Screenshot Twitter
In Colombia, a judge heard an online court case in her underwear from her bed. Now she has been suspended for three months.
Faux pas during video conferences happen quickly. Especially since many people have been working from home during the corona pandemic, there have been mostly harmless incidents again and again. In Colombia last week there was a case of a judge who showed too much from her private life during an online court hearing – and was warned for it.
Judge suspended for three months
The criminal judge Dr. Vivian Polonia was negotiating a car bomb attack that is said to have happened in a military facility via video conference. Meanwhile, her camera turned on and she was seen lying in bed in her underwear. She was smoking a cigarette and her eyes were half closed.
Only after a court employee pointed out to her that she could be seen in the live video did she switch off her camera again. But by then it was too late: the video caused a stir in Colombia last week – and went viral.
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Polonia has since been suspended for three months without pay for her performance. As an explanation, she says that she had a panic attack before the trial and that she had to go to bed because of low blood pressure.
A public statement has since said that no justification is found as to why the judge presented herself in such a condition, when “she had the facilities of her own home and all the necessary conveniences to attend a public hearing properly and with the to prepare the respect such a hearing deserves.” In the past, Polani is said to have been very revealing on Instagram.
The case is reminiscent of other missteps in online conferences
The appearance of Professor Robert E. Kelly, who was supposed to give an assessment of the political situation in South Korea in a Skype interview with the BBC, will not be forgotten. While her father was commenting live, his children stormed into the office. The wife tried with difficulty to get the children out of the room again, but by then it had already happened. The video then went viral and amused a lot of people.