California doctor attends virtual traffic court during surgery

In the latest bizarre Zoom court hearing occurrence that happened Thursday, a plastic surgeon conducted his traffic court trial during surgery, according to NBC News.

Sacramento doctor Scott Green appeared virtually in scrubs and gloves, much to the surprise of the courtroom clerk.

“Hello, Mr. Green? Are you available for trial?” the clerk asked, according to footage shared by The Sacramento Bee. “It kind of looks like you’re in an operating room right now?”

The doctor reassured the clerk he was fine to proceed.

“I am, sir,” Green said.

He continued, “Yes, I’m in an operating room right now. I’m available for trial. Go right ahead.”

Shortly after the Sacramento Superior Court Commissioner Gary Link entered the Zoom hearing, he called for a postponement, stating that he was uncomfortable with the idea that the doctor was attending mid-surgery. 

“Unless I’m mistaken, I’m seeing a defendant that’s in the middle of an operating room appearing to be actively engaged in providing services to a patient,” he said. “Is that correct, Mr. Green?”

Green once again confirmed he was in the middle of a surgery, but that another doctor in the room was leading the patient’s operation at the moment.

“I have another surgeon right here who’s doing the surgery with me, so I can stand here and allow them to do the surgery also,” Green replied.

Despite Green’s reassurance that the court was free to proceed, Link ended the hearing, citing the welfare of the patient.

“I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Link commented, noting that they would come up with a different date for when Green is “not actively involved or participating and attending to the needs of a patient.”

Green apologized for the incident, saying surgery timing doesn’t always go as planned.

Link concluded the hearing, saying, “It happens. We want to keep people healthy, we want to keep them alive. That’s important.”

The hearing was live-streamed and posted to YouTube as specified by law, as it’s mandatory that traffic trials are made public, The Sacramento Bee noted.

The incident occurred weeks after a virtual Texas court hearing was interrupted after a lawyer managed to get stuck with a cat filter covering his face.