Footage from a Michigan court hearing went viral after the defendant Corey Harris, who had a suspended license, joined the Zoom call while clearly behind the wheel.
District Judge Cedric Simpson of Ann Arbor is seen in the video reacting with disbelief as Harris dials in, his seatbelt visible across his torso and his car obviously in motion.
‘Mr. Harris, are you driving?’ Simpson asked the defendant.
‘Actually, I’m pulling into my doctor’s office,’ Harris replied. ‘So just give me one second…I’m parking right now.’
A district judge in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was astonished when a man with a suspended driver’s license joined a court Zoom call while driving a car
District Judge Cedric Simpson of Ann Arbor is seen in the video reacting with disbelief as Harris dials in, his seatbelt visible across his torso and his car obviously in motion
The footage from the Zoom call shows the legal teams in court standing in shock, while those at the back of the room do their best to contain their laughter.
The judge, bewildered and bemused, then asked if Harris was stationary, to which he replied, ‘just give me a second.’
For your first offense, one instance of driving on a suspended license in Michigan can lead to a $500 fine and up to 93 days in jail.
A second offense could mean one year in jail and an $1000 fine.
In an attempt to lessen Harris’s inevitable citation, his public defender requested an adjournment for ‘possibly up to four weeks if the court would allow.’
But Simpson said, astonished: ‘Okay, so maybe I don’t understand something. This is a driving while license suspended [case], and he was just driving, and he didn’t have a license.’
‘That is correct your honor,’ the public defender admitted in defeat.
‘I don’t even know why he would do that,’ the judge said.
‘Defendant’s bond is revoked in this matter,’ he declared. ‘The defendant is to turn himself into the Washtenaw County Jail by 6pm today.’
‘Oh my God,’ Harris replied, shocked that they would deliver a verdict that fast without hearing his side of the argument.