Man who went viral for joining court hearing for driving with suspended license while driving car is arrested in another shocking twist
Gerrard Kaonga
Featured Image Credit: Honorable Judge Cedric Simpson via Storyful
Corey Harris stunned the world for appearing at a hearing while driving with a suspended license and his story has gotten even crazier.
Michigan man Corey Harris went viral on social media in May with a bizarrely hilarious video, which you can revisit below:
Being able to join a virtual court hearing is one of the wonders of the modern world, but you would hope if you joined you would not be in the process of committing a crime.
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Harris was in court in the first place accused of driving with a suspended license. This is a misdemeanor that can land you a $500 fine and up to 93 days in jail in the state of Michigan on your first offense.
So, when he joined the hearing, while driving his car, judge Cedric Simpson was simply dumbfounded.
“OK, so maybe I don’t understand something. This is a driving while license suspended [case], and he was just driving, and he didn’t have a license,” Judge Simpson asked, which Natalie Tate, Harris’s public defender, confirmed.
Simpson continued to express his disbelief and questioned why Harris would... well do what he did.
He was then asked to turn himself into a county jail and after doing so remained in jail for two days.
However, weeks later, reports argued that there had been a clerical error that would exonerate Harris.
New details seemed to suggest that Harris had his license reinstated for over two years, but it never appeared on his file due to a clerical error.
However, in a new court hearing held on June 5, Judge Simpsons threw these claims out and argued the only person at fault was Harris.
Simpson, who did a deep dive into Harris’ case, found that he never had a license, not in Michigan or any other state in the country.
Simpson learned this because he found that, in December 2023 when Harris says he was laid up in bed with injuries from a traffic accident, he visited the Secretary of State’s office to have his state ID renewed.
Michigan residents can either have a state-issued ID or a driving license, but not both.
“Let me make it very clear, based on what the court looked at — [Harris] has never had a Michigan license. Ever,” Simpson said in court.
“And he has never had a license in the other 49 states and commonwealths that form up this great union. He has never had a license.
“He has religiously every year gotten a new ID. And so he knows that he doesn’t have a license.
“And quite frankly I wish he would have said this at the beginning and all of this hoopla could have been put aside.”
The judge did acknowledge the process can be complicated and asserted it ‘wasn’t anybody’s fault’ other than Harris who didn’t pay the fee or take the steps required of him.
Simpson also said Harris lied when he was asked about trying to resolve the situation between the October traffic stop and the May 15 court date.
Harris’ lawyer, Dionne Webster-Cox said her client is now in the process of getting a proper driving license.
UNILAD has contacted Webster-Cox for comment.