Judge stunned when suspended driver attends court hearing while driving

A judge in Michigan was stunned when a man with a suspended license attended his virtual court hearing while driving.

Zoom Calls became popular during the Covid-19 pandemic, but have led to a number of mishaps as people caught doing things they shouldn’t have done.

One person who will surely wish he had been more careful is Corey Harris of Michigan, who was behind the wheel of a car during a court hearing about his driver’s license suspension.

The whole saga began when Harris’ public defender announced in the courtroom that her client should “attend via Zoom” at the May 15 hearing in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

However, when Harris joined the conversation, it was clear that he was in a moving vehicle, holding the phone in one hand while driving with the other.

District Judge Cedric Simpson asked Harris if he was driving. Harris seemed unaware that he was admitting a crime and replied, “Actually, I’m driving to my doctor’s office. So just give me a second. I’m parking.”

Harris’s lawyer requested an adjournment of up to four weeks, but Judge Simpson asked for clarification on some points.

“OK, maybe I’m not understanding something. This is a case of driving without a license… and he was just driving and didn’t have a license.”

Harris’s lawyer confirmed that the judge was right, but Harris himself said “um” when he realized what he had done.

Judge Simpson continued: “I don’t even know why he would do that, so the defendant’s bail is revoked in this matter.”

The judge ordered Harris to surrender himself to the local county jail by 6 p.m. that evening.

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