Michigan man who became known for driving without a license never had a driver's license

A Michigan man whose court hearing went viral in May when he appeared behind the wheel via Zoom and was charged with a suspended license never had a driver’s license, the same judge said Wednesday during a hearing on the case.

Corey Harris, 44, returned to 14A-1 District Court in Ann Arbor on Wednesday before Judge J. Cedric Simpson and was taken into custody after the judge said there was a warrant out for his arrest from 2015 related to driving without a license in Allen Park.

Harris appeared before Simpson on a similar charge on May 15. He was charged with a misdemeanor in Pittsfield Township in October, court records show.

When Simpson noticed Harris driving during his May court appearance, he revoked Harris’s bail and ordered him to turn himself in to the county jail that evening. Failure to comply would result in a no-bail warrant being issued. Harris’s bail was set on May 17, according to court records.

Harris’s license suspension was related to a child support case before the Saginaw County Friend of the Court. The court ordered the suspension to be lifted so Harris can drive again in January 2022, according to a report by WXYZ-TV (Channel 7). A review of Saginaw County Friend of the Court records shows that Harris’s license suspension was lifted.

But in a surprising turn of events, Simpson said Wednesday that Harris never had a state driver’s license and that his driving privileges were restricted or “suspended,” according to the court. The judge said the mix-up of Harris’ license was not the result of a clerical error, as had been suspected.

“Let me be very clear: According to the court’s findings, he never had a Michigan license – ever. And he never had a license in the other 49 states and Commonwealths that make up this great union,” Simpson said.

“What people don’t understand is that when they revoked his license in Saginaw, they didn’t revoke his license, they revoked his privilege to drive in this state,” the judge said. “… His license was revoked again in 2022 – that would have required Mr. Harris to do something; he didn’t do it.”

Michigan’s Secretary of State said earlier this week that if Harris had had his license revoked for failure to pay child support… (then his license suspension would have been lifted under Clean Slate laws), which took effect in October 2021 and lifted license suspensions for some drivers. “…But he still had to take further steps… the Department of State did not receive authorization to lift that suspension.”

Simpson said Harris made a reinstatement payment this week to the Saginaw County Friend of the Court, who removed the suspension from his record. “At the time of the inspection in Pittsfield and also on May 15 … there was no error,” he said.

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