WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI – A man who became a viral internet meme for driving during a virtual court hearing has never had a license to drive in the state of Michigan.
With much attention on the case and calls for public inquiry, Washtenaw County 14A District Judge Cedric Simpson and his staff determined Corey Harris has had only a Michigan state identification card since 1999 and has never obtained a driver’s license, despite statements that he had one, according to information presented during Harris’s court hearing June 5.
“I want to be clear. He (Harris) has never had a license – ever,” Simpson said to Harris from the bench as Harris stood at the podium, in person this time at his court hearing.
“He has renewed his state ID every year like clockwork since 1999 and has not obtained a license. The state does not allow someone to have both. The information we had at the time of the May 15 hearing was accurate. The court did not error. Him not having a license was a failure on his part.”
Related: Michigan man memed for driving in virtual court had license reinstated 2 years ago
At the close of the hearing Harris, 44, was arrested and taken to the Washtenaw County Jail to await pick up from police in Allen Park, where he was found to have another active warrant for driving without a license.
Harris first appeared behind the wheel via Zoom on May 15 for a pretrial hearing on the misdemeanor charge of driving on a suspended license. The judge briefly questioned him and then ordered him to report to jail immediately for continuing to drive without a license, according to the video recording of the hearing.
Harris was released from the jail two days later on a personal bond, records show.
An order through the Saginaw County Friend of the Court suspended Harris’ license in January 2010 after he failed to pay child support, Saginaw County court records show.
The suspension, in legal terms, means his driving privileges in the State of Michigan were suspended. Regardless of whether or not he could obtain a license, he was not allowed to drive in Michigan, Simpson said.
His license remained suspended until Jan. 7, 2022, when Saginaw County Circuit Judge James Borchard signed an order reinstating his license.
The order should have been given to the Michigan Secretary of State for processing, though his license remained listed as suspended.
State officials say it was up to Harris to provide the Secretary of State with the order to get his license back and that records show he failed to do that.
“The typical process in these cases is for the Friend of the Court to provide the order of reinstatement to the resident, who then has 10 days to submit it to a Secretary of State branch office,” Michigan Secretary of State Director of Communications Angela Benander said. “The Friend of the Court does not send the order directly to the Secretary of State.”
Benander said at the time of Harris’s virtual court hearing the state office had not received the necessary proof of reinstatement issued by the Saginaw County Friend of the Court.
Police pulled over Harris in Pittsfield Township in October for a traffic violation and he was issued a misdemeanor charge after police saw his license was listed as suspended with the Secretary of State.
Harris’s attorney, Dionne Webster-Cox, said he paid reinstatement fees after the May 15 hearing and was in the process of obtaining his driver’s license. He had an appointment set up with the Secretary of State for June 6, she said.
“He was driving when he wasn’t supposed to be driving and it became a joke,” she said. “He didn’t start this hoopla, but he taking steps to get his license and resolve this situation.”
Harris is scheduled to appear in court again Aug. 7.
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