Corey Harris went viral last week and drew much ridicule after a video surfaced of him driving a car during a Zoom hearing on May 15 in a case involving him operating a vehicle while his license was suspended.
At that hearing, Judge Cedric Simpson of Ann Arbor, Michigan revoked Harris’ bail and ordered him to report to the Washtenaw County Jail by 6 p.m. that same day or he would be held without bail. WJBK-TV reported.
“This should be some kind of lesson to all of us: Do your job well. At the end of the day, do your job well.”
Then earlier this week, it was widely reported that a different judge ordered Harris’ license suspension overturned in 2022, but the information about the overturned suspension never reached the Michigan Secretary of State and the record was left unchanged, which has earned Harris a lot of sympathy.
But when Harris appeared before Judge Simpson on Wednesday — this time in person — he shared shocking new information.
The judge spoke to Harris’ new lawyer. Said“People are saying — and frankly your client is alleging that — that this court was acting on some incomplete or erroneous information. I say that, lawyers. Given the actions of the court, that’s what caused the court to look into what my sentence was.”
Simpson noted that Harris “never held a Michigan license” and did not have a valid driver’s license in any other state, and at the end of the hearing, Simpson arrested Harris on the spot. WXYZ-TV reported.
Court officials were found to have said information about Harris’ license suspension being revoked never reached the Michigan Secretary of State’s office because Harris hadn’t paid the fee, WXYZ added.
“Nobody was at fault. Harris just failed to do certain things,” Simpson said, according to the station.
So why was Harris’ license suspended if he never had one in the first place?
In Michigan, people can have a suspension on their driving record even if they don’t have a valid driver’s license, WXYZ reported, adding that even if such a person is able to obtain a driver’s license, they won’t be given the right to drive until the suspension is lifted.
A spokesperson for the Michigan Secretary of State’s office confirmed to WXYZ after the judge made the information public that Harris has never held a valid driver’s license.
Harris said in an interview with WXYZ on Tuesday that he couldn’t remember if he had a valid driver’s license, but Pittsfield Township prosecutors said during a hearing Wednesday that Harris admitted to officers involved in the October 2022 traffic stop that led to the much-talked-about May 15 Zoom hearing that he didn’t have a license.
By the end of Wednesday’s court hearing, Judge Simpson issued a warrant for Harris’ arrest for driving without a license in Allen Park in 2015, according to WXYZ.
Harris’ new lawyer, Dionne Webster Cox, told the station she was shocked and said, “This should be some kind of lesson for all of us: Do your own job. At the end of the day, do your own job.”
This story has been updated.
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