Viral man who appeared in court while driving via Zoom never had a driver’s license, judge says (video)

The saga of the Michigan Man who became known through his participation in the trial, via Zoom The case continued on Wednesday, but with a new twist: The judge announced that he had never held a law license anywhere in the United States in his entire life.

Corey Harris appeared in court in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, a week after his May 15 court hearing went viral. Harris attended the May 15 hearing on his license suspension via Zoom while driving. Judge Cedric Simpson was unsurprisingly speechless. Simpson ordered Harris to turn himself in that same day.

In the days that followed, Harris claimed in an interview with a local television station that he would be held up as an example of an honest mistake. During Wednesday’s hearing, however, Judge Simpson clarified that Harris never had a legal driver’s license. He explained that although Harris’s license had been revoked, he never had a valid driver’s license.

“He has never had a license. Ever. And he has never had a license in any of the other 49 states or Commonwealths that make up this country,” Simpson said around the 3 minute mark.

“When they revoked his license … they didn’t revoke his license, they revoked his privilege to drive in the state. So if he had had a Kentucky license, he could have driven anywhere Kentucky allowed him to drive; he just couldn’t drive in Michigan because his privilege was restricted,” Simpson said.

The judge emphasized that there were no clerical errors and that the only omission was that Harris did not take steps to reinstate his license. Harris had claimed he was unable to pick up his license because he was homebound after an accident, but Simpson disagreed, noting that Harris had visited the Secretary of State’s office to renew his Michigan license.

Defense attorney Dionne E. Webster-Cox said they were focused on correcting Harris’ record and securing his driver’s license. She was surprised to learn that Harris had never held a driver’s license.

Harris, who had a warrant out for his arrest for driving without a license, was taken into police custody but was granted bail for his release. His next court date is August 7, giving him time to get a driver’s license.