Suspended driver who went viral for calling in to Zoom court hearing from car never had a license at all

‘Let me make it very clear, based on what the court looked at. [Harris] has never had a Michigan license’

The Michigan man who went viral for joining his remote court hearing for a suspended license while driving his car never had a license to start, a judge said at a hearing on Wednesday.

In a video that went viral last month, Corey Harris shocked Judge Cedric Simpson when he dialed into his May 15 Zoom court appearance for charges of driving on a suspended license while parking his car.

“I don’t even know why he would do that,” the judge said, perplexed as Harris explained that he was pulling into his doctor’s office.

The judge then ordered Harris to turn himself into the Washtenaw County Jail by 6pm the same day, before Harris replied: “Oh my God,” looking skyward in disbelief. Harris spent two days in jail

It was initially thought that the viral moment had been the consequence of an unfortunate clerical error, with WXYZ reporting the order to halt his license was rescinded in January 2022, but never reported to state authorities.

But now it has been revealed that Harris never had a valid Michigan license in the first place.

“Let me make it very clear, based on what the court looked at. [Harris] has never had a Michigan license. Ever. 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,” a judge said as Harris appeared in Washtenaw County Court on Wednesday, wearing a yellow shirt that said “trust me” across the front.

Corey Harris appears in court on Wednesday (Hon. Judge Cedric Simpson)

During the 30-minute hearing, Simpson explained the order to halt Harris’ license, which stemmed from a 2010 unpaid child support case, was rescinded. But he never paid his fees to the clerk’s office so a clearance was never sent to the Secretary of State.

“The person that needed to be blamed is the person that he was staring at in the mirror,” Simpson told Harris. “He didn’t do what he should have done.”

In Michigan, a person can have suspensions on their driving record and also not have a valid driver’s license. If that person was able to obtain a driver’s license, they would still not have the privilege of driving until they cleared their suspensions.

At the hearing, prosecutors confirmed Harris knew he had been driving on a suspended license because he admitted it to officers at a traffic stop in October 2023.

Simpson also noted additional evidence that Harris knew he did not have a driver’s license by the fact that Harris has faithfully renewed his state identification every year.

“The way I know that he’s never had a license is because - on May 3, 1999, he was 19 at the time - he applied for his first Michigan ID,” Simpson said. “He has religiously, every year, gotten a new ID. And so he knows that he doesn’t have a license.”

In Michigan, you cannot have both a driver’s license and a state ID. i Harris previusly told WXYZ that he did not make an attempt to correct his license in 2023 because he was housebound. However, Simpson said that was completely untrue.

Corey Harris (right) who went viral for joining his remote court hearing for a suspended license while driving his car never had a license to start (Hon J Cedric Simpson)

“The reason I know that is because, Mr. Harris, on December 28, 2023 - do you know where you were?”

Harris said he believed he was “laid up from his accident.”

“You were at the Secretary of State’s office. You were at the Secretary of State’s office because redid and and got your new Michigan ID,” Simpson said.

Harris then turned towards his attorney and looked stunned before Simpson warned him to stick to the truth.

“His falsehoods and misstatements are not going to fare him very well,” Simpson said.

Harris’ defense attorney Dionne E.Webster-Cox said her client is working to secure his license and has paid the reinstatement fee. He’s also due for a permit test this week.

Harris was taken into police custody following the hearing for an outstanding arrest warrant for driving with a suspended license from 2015.