Corey Harris, a Michigan man who became famous after a Zoom court appearance where he was caught driving on a suspended license, actually never had a driver’s license, according to Judge J. Cedric Simpson.
This revelation came during a court hearing on Wednesday in Ann Arbor, where Harris, 44, was taken into custody due to a 2015 bench warrant related to driving with a suspended license in Allen Park.
Back on May 15, Harris appeared in court for a similar charge. During that hearing, Judge Simpson noticed Harris was driving and immediately revoked his bond, ordering him to turn himself in to the county jail that evening. Failure to comply would have resulted in a bench warrant without bond. Court records show that bond was set for Harris on May 17.
Harris’ license suspension was originally due to a child support case in Saginaw County. Although the suspension was lifted in January 2022 to allow him to drive again, Judge Simpson revealed that Harris never actually had a Michigan license or a license from any other state.
It turned out Harris’ driving privileges had been restricted because he had never obtained a license, not because of a clerical error as previously thought.
Judge Simpson clarified, “When they suspended his license in Saginaw, they suspended the privilege to drive in this state… His driving privileges were unsuspended in 2022, requiring Mr. Harris to take further action, which he did not.”
The Michigan Secretary of State mentioned that under the Clean Slate laws, which took effect in October 2021, Harris’ driving privileges should have been reinstated since the laws removed license suspensions for some drivers due to non-payment of child support. However, Harris failed to complete the necessary steps for reinstatement.
Recently, Harris submitted a reinstatement payment to the Saginaw County Friend of the Court, which lifted the suspension from his record. Despite this, Judge Simpson pointed out there was no error in the earlier stops and court appearances.
Harris’ defense attorney, Dionne Webster-Cox, expressed shock at the judge’s findings and stressed her goal of resolving the court cases to make Harris eligible to drive legally. To obtain a valid license, Harris must now secure a permit from the Secretary of State, drive for at least 30 days, and pass a driving test.