"Was she also semi stoned?": Vivian Polania video trends as Colombian judge is suspended over Zoom court call behavior

Columbian judge Vivian Polania was placed on a three-month suspension after appearing for a virtual court hearing, half-naked and smoking in bed. The judge claimed that she was doing so for medical reasons. However, the disciplinary committee did not change their decision.

Vivian Polania made headlines last week after she appeared on a zoom call lounging in her underwear and puffing on a cigarette in bed. The 34-year-old was presiding over a court hearing related to a car bombing that was targeted at an army brigade in Cúcuta in June 2021. The scantily clad judge was to decide whether the man being held should be granted bail.

TMZ reported that when the judge spoke during the virtual hearing, she slurred her words. At one point during the hearing, Polania shut off the camera for nearly an hour.

After a video of Vivian Polania's behavior went viral across social media, the Judicial Disciplinary Commission launched an investigation into the judge’s inappropriate actions. As per the panel’s 16-page ruling, the judge was lying in bed in a “deplorable state" and looked “disheveled with sleepy eyes.”

Responding to the event, one netizen questioned:

Netizen reacts to judge's conduct at the virtual court hearing (Image via Twitter)

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Disciplinary Committee suspends Vivian Polania until February 2023

Columbia’s National Commission of Judicial Ethics announced in a ruling that the judge, whose full name is Heidy Vivian Polania Franco, will be suspended until February 2023. This comes after she did not present herself appropriately, despite having “all the amenities necessary."

In their suspension decision, the commission also announced:

“It is a duty of this commission to avoid repeating the judge’s contempt for the investiture of her position and the contempt she showed with her peers in the public prosecutor’s office, the prosecution and the defence.”

They added that they found:

“No justification for the judge to have presented herself in such deplorable conditions when she had the facilities of her own home and all the amenities necessary to prepare for a public hearing appropriately and with the respect such a hearing deserved.”

This is not the first time Vivian Polania has been called out for her explicit nature. In the past, she has received several warnings for posting provocative pictures on her Instagram account.

In response to those warnings, Polania expressed at that time as she was simply being “openminded.” She added:

“Not all judges, lawyers and other state employees are the same. What I wear and show on my social media is my decision and I’m not going to change a thing.”

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Vivian Polania addresses recent suspension in interview

El Pais reported that the judge spoke to a local radio station about the incident and claimed that the video, which had gone viral, was misleading. She added that she decided to lie down as she was suffering from an anxiety attack during her proceedings. She also claimed to have low blood pressure at the time.

In an interview with Semana, the judge also claimed that after she arrived to Cúcuta for the first time, she opted to wear shorts and a t-shirt due to the searing heat. However, it made people uncomfortable, and her colleagues also asked her to wear “long, elegant” dresses to work at the Palace of Justice.

The jurist added that she felt “tired of pleasing people” over her “peace of mind.” She also added that she will not change her personality for others.