Corey Harris, 44, went viral last week over a Zoom courtroom video in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that showed him driving a car during the hearing regarding his suspended driver’s license.
Judge Cedric Simpson noticed Harris joined the May 15 video hearing from behind the wheel of an automobile and called him out: “Ok, so maybe I don’t understand something. This is a driving while license suspended [hearing], and he was just driving, and he didn’t have a license.”
‘Always double-check behind these workers because they will say that they will do something, and they don’t do it.’
Simpson announced that Harris’ bond was revoked and ordered him to turn himself in at the Washtenaw County jail by 6 p.m. that same day or else he’d be held without bond, WJBK-TV reported.
But it turns out Harris never should have been on trial at all.
Michigan Secretary of State records show his license was suspended in 2010 for unpaid child support in Saginaw County, WXYZ-TV reported. However, court records show that a judge in 2022 rescinded the license suspension, WXYZ said.
But WXYZ said information about the rescinded suspension never got to the Michigan Secretary of State, so the record was never changed.
With that, Harris was cited in Pittsfield Township last October for driving with a suspended license, according to WXYZ’s video report.
WXYZ said Harris spent two days in jail after the Zoom video hearing last month, and he told the station he went back to the Secretary of State to try to resolve the matter.
“It’s very embarrassing,” Harris told WXYZ. “With the type of ties that I have with the church and the community, it’s very embarrassing.”
In a separate story, WXYZ said it’s unclear why neither Harris’ public defender or the Pittsfield Township’s prosecutor’s office resolved his case months ago. Especially given that WXYZ said it took less that five minutes to find the Saginaw County court record showing that a judge rescinded Harris’ license suspension in January 2022.
WXYZ said it reached out to the prosecutor’s office and the office of Harris’ defense attorney. A county spokesperson in regard to the public defender’s office said they do not comment on ongoing court cases, WXYZ added.
The station also reported that the Saginaw County Friend of the Court, which was involved in the original child support case, didn’t respond to calls from WXYZ. But the Secretary of State’s office on Friday told the station it never received clearance from the friend of the court that would have allowed the reinstatement of Harris’ driving privileges after he paid fees.
“Always double-check behind these workers because they will say that they will do something, and they don’t do it,” Harris told WXYZ.
Here’s the Zoom courtroom video that went viral:
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