In late May, a Michigan man, Corey Harris, joined a zoom meeting in an Ann Arbor, Michigan courtroom with Judge J. Cedric Simpson and his assistant to face charges related to an October traffic stop. Simpson was surprised to see Harris was driving while on the zoom call, based on his belief Harris’ driver’s licence was suspended, so he ordered Harris to turn himself into authorities that evening, which Harris did and was arrested and put in jail. Collin Rugg tweeted a video of the zoom call, saying “This is the funniest video I’ve seen in a long time.” .In truth however, Harris had his licence reinstated more than two years ago, something that did not appear in his file because of a clerical error. The New York Post updated the story, reporting Harris’ “driver’s licence was suspended in 2010 for unpaid child support with the Saginaw County Friend of the Court, but a judge rescinded the suspension in January 2022,” as per WXYZ-TV. Last week, the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office said it had not received the clearance notice that Harris had paid fines, so the suspension was never lifted, according to WXYZ-TV which the Post said first tracked down the clerical error. .Harris was jailed for two days after turning himself in following the zoom hearing and says he is concerned the incident could tarnish his reputation. “With the type of ties that I have with the church and the community, it’s very embarrassing,” Harris told WXYZ-TV, adding the appointment he was going to the day of the zoom call was for his wife’s worsening medical condition and that was his only concern at the time. “What was I thinking? I was thinking about getting my wife medical help,” he said. "That's what I was thinking. I wasn’t thinking about the fact that I got a suspended license. I don’t care about all that.” Harris said he’s been to the Secretary of State’s Office since the error was brought to his attention, hoping it will be resolved, reports the New York Post. “Always double-check behind these workers because they will say that they will do something, and they don’t do it,” he said. Why his public defender or the Pittsfield Township prosecutor’s office did not catch the error is not clear. Khyla Craine, the deputy legal director for the Michigan secretary of state, explained that getting a driver’s licence reinstated can be complicated, reports the Post. “Sometimes it is simple as we at the secretary of state’s office did not get a clearance from the court that everything was done, but something happened in the wires, and we needed to talk to the court to get the clearance and clean it up for the resident,” Craine told WXYZ-TV.
In late May, a Michigan man, Corey Harris, joined a zoom meeting in an Ann Arbor, Michigan courtroom with Judge J. Cedric Simpson and his assistant to face charges related to an October traffic stop. Simpson was surprised to see Harris was driving while on the zoom call, based on his belief Harris’ driver’s licence was suspended, so he ordered Harris to turn himself into authorities that evening, which Harris did and was arrested and put in jail. Collin Rugg tweeted a video of the zoom call, saying “This is the funniest video I’ve seen in a long time.” .In truth however, Harris had his licence reinstated more than two years ago, something that did not appear in his file because of a clerical error. The New York Post updated the story, reporting Harris’ “driver’s licence was suspended in 2010 for unpaid child support with the Saginaw County Friend of the Court, but a judge rescinded the suspension in January 2022,” as per WXYZ-TV. Last week, the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office said it had not received the clearance notice that Harris had paid fines, so the suspension was never lifted, according to WXYZ-TV which the Post said first tracked down the clerical error. .Harris was jailed for two days after turning himself in following the zoom hearing and says he is concerned the incident could tarnish his reputation. “With the type of ties that I have with the church and the community, it’s very embarrassing,” Harris told WXYZ-TV, adding the appointment he was going to the day of the zoom call was for his wife’s worsening medical condition and that was his only concern at the time. “What was I thinking? I was thinking about getting my wife medical help,” he said. "That's what I was thinking. I wasn’t thinking about the fact that I got a suspended license. I don’t care about all that.” Harris said he’s been to the Secretary of State’s Office since the error was brought to his attention, hoping it will be resolved, reports the New York Post. “Always double-check behind these workers because they will say that they will do something, and they don’t do it,” he said. Why his public defender or the Pittsfield Township prosecutor’s office did not catch the error is not clear. Khyla Craine, the deputy legal director for the Michigan secretary of state, explained that getting a driver’s licence reinstated can be complicated, reports the Post. “Sometimes it is simple as we at the secretary of state’s office did not get a clearance from the court that everything was done, but something happened in the wires, and we needed to talk to the court to get the clearance and clean it up for the resident,” Craine told WXYZ-TV.
