UPDATED 6/11, 12:30 a.m. ET: Corey Harris is making progress to legally securing his driver’s license by getting his learner’s permit.
The 44-year-old Michigan man went viral for driving with a supposedly suspended license during his Zoom court appearance earlier this month. Despite believing his license was suspended over unpaid child support in 2007, it was eventually revealed he never had a license in the first place.
According to TMZ, his attorney shared a video of Harris celebrating after passing his test at the Secretary of State’s office. You can watch that moment here.
The outlet also notes that he will be able to take his road test on July 7. If he passes, his misdemeanor charge could be reduced to a civil infraction before his next court hearing.
UPDATED 6/5, 4:00 p.m. ET: Another wrinkle in the ongoing saga of Corey Harris' embarrassing court moment has arrived.
In an appearance in court on Wednesday, June 5, Michigan Judge Cedric Simpson said there wasn't a clerical error after all and Harris didn't have a license when he was busted for driving with a suspended license last year, and during his recent viral Zoom court appearance. "There was no error. By anybody," he said. "It was a failure on the part of Mr. Harris to do certain things. I grant you that it can be a complicated process, but it certainly wasn't anybody's fault."
But what were those "certain things" that Harris failed to do? As The Washington Post reported, there was an order to rescind the suspension on his license in January 2022, but he failed to pay a fee to actually get it reinstated. Drivers are required to pay $125 to get their license reinstated, which he only did on Monday, June 3.
"You have to take that step to be reinstated—it’s like you have to sign a check to make it good," Michigan-based attorney Jeffrey Randa told the outlet. "Courts often drop the ball all over the place, so nobody might have told him. But, even if a judge orders the suspension to be lifted, it doesn’t take effect until he pays the reinstatement fee."
So there you have it, Harris dropped the ball, not the court. It's still unclear if anyone told him he had to pay the $125 fee. Since the viral infamy, Harris has deleted his social media accounts, WXYZ noted.
See original story below.
After going viral for a video that showed him turning up to a court Zoom call while allegedly driving with a suspended license, Michigan man Corey Harris is trying to figure out why the suspension on his license wasn't lifted like it was supposed to have been.
As reported by WXYZ, Harris, 44, was shocked when he was charged with driving while his license was suspended, because a judge ordered that suspension to be lifted in January 2022. The suspension was in connection to a child support case with Saginaw County Friend of the Court, but for whatever reason the Michigan Secretary of State's Office never received the news that Harris' suspension was to be lifted.
"What was I thinking? I was thinking about getting my wife medical help. That's what I was thinking," Harris said. "They were supposed to have been lifted it two years ago but they didn't. ... It's very embarrassing, and with the type of ties that I have with the church and the community, it's very embarrassing."
In the now viral court video, Harris is seen attending a hearing for driving with his license suspended in October 2023, while he was actually driving. Michigan Judge Cedric Simpson was surprised when he saw Harris driving because his file showed that he still had a suspended license. "Mr. Harris, are you driving?" Simpson asked Harris. "Actually, I’m pulling into my doctor’s office, actually, so just give me one second, I'm parking right now," he replied. Harris had his bond revoked and was ordered to turn himself in to the county jail that same day.
He is now looking to get to the bottom of why the Secretary of State's Office never received confirmation the suspension was rescinded in January 2022.
