Corey Harris went viral last week after video came to light showing him driving a car during a May 15 Zoom hearing for his case of driving with a suspended license, which garnered Harris plenty of derision.
During that hearing, Judge Cedric Simpson of Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced that Harris' bond was revoked and ordered him to turn himself in at the Washtenaw County jail by 6 p.m. that same day, or else he'd be held without bond, WJBK-TV reported.
'It should be something of a lesson for all of us. Handle your business. At the end of the day, handle your business.'
Then it was widely reported earlier this week that another judge in 2022 ordered Harris' license suspension rescinded — but information about the rescinded suspension never got to the Michigan secretary of state, so the record was never changed. With that, Harris got plenty of sympathy.
However, when Harris appeared Wednesday in front of Judge Simpson — this time in person — Simpson shared shocking new information.
Speaking to Harris' new attorney, the judge said, "People are saying — and quite frankly your client has made the assertion — that ... this court was acting on some type of defective or faulty information. Which I will tell you, counsel, caused the court — given what the court did — to investigate what my ruling was."
With that, Simpson stated that Harris actually "has never had a Michigan license, ever," nor has he had a valid driver's license in any other state, and by the end of the hearing Simpson had Harris arrested right then and there, WXYZ-TV reported.
It turns out that court officials said information about Harris' rescinded license suspension never got to the Michigan secretary of state because Harris never paid his fees, WXYZ added.
"There was no error by anybody," Simpson said, according to the station. "It was a failure on the part of Mr. Harris to do certain things."
So how could Harris' license be suspended if he didn't have a license to begin with?
WXYZ reported that in Michigan, individuals can have suspensions on their driving records without having valid driver's licenses. The station added that if such individuals are able to obtain driver's licenses, they still wouldn't have driving privileges until they cleared their suspensions.
A spokesperson for the Michigan secretary of state confirmed to WXYZ — now that the judge made the information public — that Harris has never possessed a valid driver's license.
While Harris told WXYZ during a Tuesday interview that he didn't recall if he ever had a valid driver's license, a Pittsfield Township prosecutor at Wednesday's hearing said Harris admitted that he didn't have a license to the officer involved in the October 2022 traffic stop that led to May 15's viral Zoom hearing.
Judge Simpson by the end of Wednesday's court session issued a bench warrant for Harris' arrest — over a 2015 case of driving with a suspended license in Allen Park, WXYZ said.
Harris' new defense attorney, Dionne Webster-Cox, told the station she was shocked: "It should be something of a lesson for all of us. Handle your business. At the end of the day, handle your business."
This story has been updated.
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Corey Harris, 44, went viral last week over a Zoom courtroom video in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that showed him driving a car during the hearing regarding his suspended driver's license.
Judge Cedric Simpson noticed Harris joined the May 15 video hearing from behind the wheel of an automobile and called him out: "Ok, so maybe I don’t understand something. This is a driving while license suspended [hearing], and he was just driving, and he didn’t have a license."
'Always double-check behind these workers because they will say that they will do something, and they don't do it.'
Simpson announced that Harris' bond was revoked and ordered him to turn himself in at the Washtenaw County jail by 6 p.m. that same day or else he'd be held without bond, WJBK-TV reported.
But it turns out Harris never should have been on trial at all.
Michigan Secretary of State records show his license was suspended in 2010 for unpaid child support in Saginaw County, WXYZ-TV reported. However, court records show that a judge in 2022 rescinded the license suspension, WXYZ said.
But WXYZ said information about the rescinded suspension never got to the Michigan Secretary of State, so the record was never changed.
With that, Harris was cited in Pittsfield Township last October for driving with a suspended license, according to WXYZ's video report.
WXYZ said Harris spent two days in jail after the Zoom video hearing last month, and he told the station he went back to the Secretary of State to try to resolve the matter.
"It's very embarrassing," Harris told WXYZ. "With the type of ties that I have with the church and the community, it's very embarrassing."
In a separate story, WXYZ said it's unclear why neither Harris' public defender or the Pittsfield Township's prosecutor's office resolved his case months ago. Especially given that WXYZ said it took less that five minutes to find the Saginaw County court record showing that a judge rescinded Harris' license suspension in January 2022.
WXYZ said it reached out to the prosecutor's office and the office of Harris' defense attorney. A county spokesperson in regard to the public defender's office said they do not comment on ongoing court cases, WXYZ added.
The station also reported that the Saginaw County Friend of the Court, which was involved in the original child support case, didn't respond to calls from WXYZ. But the Secretary of State's office on Friday told the station it never received clearance from the friend of the court that would have allowed the reinstatement of Harris' driving privileges after he paid fees.
"Always double-check behind these workers because they will say that they will do something, and they don't do it," Harris told WXYZ.
Here's the Zoom courtroom video that went viral:
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A courtroom video shows the unbelievable moment when a defendant on trial for driving with a suspended license joined a Zoom hearing on the matter — while driving a car.
Judge Cedric Simpson was presiding over the hearing in Ann Arbor, Michigan, WJBK-TV reported, adding that defendant Corey Harris joined the May 15 video hearing from behind the wheel of a car.
'Okay, so maybe I don’t understand something,' the judge began. 'This is a driving while license suspended [hearing], and he was just driving, and he didn’t have a license.'
"Mr Harris, are you driving?" Simpson asked Harris.
"Actually, I’m pulling into my doctor’s office," Harris replied. "Just give me one second, I'm parking right now."
Simpson was incredulous, dropping his pen and resting his head on his hand, WJBK said.
"All right," the judge interjected. "What are we doing?"
Harris' public defender asked Simpson to adjourn the hearing, but the judge wasn't about to let this one go.
"Okay, so maybe I don’t understand something," the judge began. "This is a driving while license suspended [hearing], and he was just driving, and he didn’t have a license."
"Uh," Harris muttered.
"Those were the charges, your honor, yes," the public defender replied.
"No, I'm looking at his record; he doesn't have a license," Simpson shot back. "He's suspended, and he's just driving."
"That is correct, your honor," the public defender acknowledged.
"Uh," Harris muttered again before adding a "hello?" amid a long silence from the court.
Finally, the judge noted, "I don’t even know why he would do that."
Simpson soon announced that Harris' bond was revoked, and he ordered the defendant to turn himself in at the Washtenaw County jail by 6 p.m. that same day or else he'd be held without bond, WJBK noted.
With that, Harris leaned his head back and sighed, "Oh, my God."
Here's the video of the entire exchange:
WJBK spoke to Harris' attorney who said she "strives to live in a world where people are not jailed for non-violent offenses," but the station said she refused to comment further.
A number of everyday people had hilarious reactions to what went down in the courtroom.
One woman told WJBK she advises Harris to "just walk, from here out" instead of getting behind a steering wheel anytime soon. A man added to the station that next time Harris ought to dress in a suit and tie and sign into the Zoom video hearing from inside his house.
Speaking of, Harris' next court date is set for June 5, WJBK said.
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Republican students at one Michigan high school may issue a morning announcement that criticizes a statewide abortion proposal on the ballot this year, a federal judge has ruled.
On Friday, Judge Paul D. Borman of the Eastern District of Michigan determined that administrators at Skyline High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, violated the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of conservative students when they forbade the students to make an announcement that denounced Proposal 3, a proposal on the Michigan ballot this year that would make abortion a state constitutional right.
On October 21, the Skyline Republican Club and its president, a minor whose name has not been given, submitted the following message for the morning announcements:
"Attention Students: Are you interested in joining our efforts to protect the health of women and children by joining us in our fight to defeat Proposal 3? If proposal 3 is passed it would eliminate health and safety regulations, legalize late term and partial birth abortion, no longer require physicians to perform abortions, and eliminate informed consent laws. If so, email us at skylinerepublicanclub@gmail.com."
However, school employee Laurie Adams told the group that day that their announcement would not be read because of its "political nature." School secretary Jefferson Bilsborrow reaffirmed that decision. Principal Cory McElmeel did as well in an email dated October 28.
Administrators still refused to air the message, even after the club later eliminated the phrase "by joining us in our fight to defeat Proposal 3," which could be viewed as a political call to action. As a result, David Nielsen, his son, and the group sued the school for violating their First Amendment rights.
Judge Borman sided with the plaintiffs, arguing that the school sought "to silence" their "appropriate speech" against the proposal, even as the school had either directly or indirectly approved of student demonstrations in favor of it.
Court documents indicate that school administrators knew that a student chapter of the National Organization of Women had organized a "walk-out" in favor of Proposal 3 on school property during school hours on Nov. 7. "Permitting students in favor of Proposal 3 to cut classes, and to demonstrate on school property in favor of Proposal 3," while at the same time rejecting the anti-Proposal 3 message from the Republican Club because of its "political nature," violated the club members' "rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution," Borman wrote on Friday.
With the midterm elections just days away, Borman ordered the school to read the amended version of the message, the one without the political call to action, during morning announcements on Nov. 7.
The Thomas More Law Center, an Ann Arbor legal nonprofit that represented the plaintiffs in this case, is celebrating the ruling as a victory for students and free speech.
"The Constitution protects a student’s right to have a different viewpoint from others and share it within the walls of a public school," stated TMLC attorney Erin Mersino, who is handling the case. "How else will students learn tolerance toward opinions to which they disagree or how to thrive in our pluralistic society? The Supreme Court cautioned against viewpoint discrimination in the schools, warning it creates 'enclaves of totalitarianism.'"
"Public schools across our nation are stifling the free speech of conservative students and organizations," added TMLC president Richard Thompson. "We are working to defend their constitutional rights — rights which the Supreme Court so famously said, they do not lose by merely entering the schoolhouse gate."
A Chinese college student who is not a U.S. citizen cast an illegal vote on Sunday — and Michigan election officials will still count the vote. The 19-year-old — who is legally present in the country studying at the University of Michigan but not a citizen — registered to vote on Sunday, having “signed a […]
When the media treat citizens like conspiracy theorists for being concerned about election integrity, it damages confidence in elections.
A report provided to The Federalist alleges Ann Arbor, Michigan, officials violated state law during the 2022 midterm elections.
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