Brazilian judge caught shirtless during court session on Zoom

A leading Brazilian judge shocked viewers who tuned in to a livestreamed court hearing — when he appeared completely shirtless.

Judge Carmo Antonio de Souza, 57, was part of a video call with other judges from the State Court in Amapa who are all working from home during the coronavirus lockdown.

Sipping a drink, Souza was bare-chested as the camera went live, screening him alongside four formally dressed colleagues in Zoom chat windows.

After initially raising the camera to just show his face, Souza then calmly walked off camera — coming back later dressed in his usual shirt and tie.

The Amapá State Court of Justice (TJAP) held a tribunal into the incident, ruling in favor of the judge and attacking any suggestion that he had deliberately appeared topless in the session streamed live.

“Carmo Antonio de Souza, without realizing that his equipment was turned on, minutes before the official start of the session, briefly appeared topless,” the tribunal ruled.

It insisted it was completely accidental given that the camera turned on before the session was due to start — and noted it was for mere seconds before the judge returned suitably dressed.

“The practice of carrying out judicial sessions by videoconference is a recent development,” it noted of the unprecedented steps needed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“In this sense, the occurrence of incidents such as this is perfectly understandable.”

With Post wires