An Ann Arbor judge was left in disbelief when a man with a suspended driver’s license attended his Zoom court hearing while driving.
On May 15, during a case about his suspended license, Corey Harris joined the virtual hearing from the driver’s seat of his car. Judge Cedric Simpson was visibly shocked to see this.
“Mr. Harris, are you driving?” Judge Simpson inquired.
“Actually, I’m pulling into my doctor’s office. Just give me one second, I’m parking right now,” Harris replied.
Judge Simpson, taken aback, asked, “Wait. What are we doing?”
Harris’s public defender requested an adjournment, but Judge Simpson was not convinced. “Okay, 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.”
The public defender confirmed the judge’s observation. Judge Simpson then revoked Harris’s bond and ordered him to turn himself into the Washtenaw County jail by 6 p.m. that evening, where he would be held without bond.
Upon hearing the decision, a frustrated Harris exclaimed, “Oh my god.”
Harris’s defense attorney expressed a wish for a world where non-violent offenders are not jailed but declined to comment further. Harris’s next court date is set for June 5.