A man accused of driving with a suspended license deepens his troubles in a Zoom hearing

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A man accused of driving with a suspended license deepens his troubles in a Zoom hearing

Author: Debra Cassens Weiss

May 30, 2024 9:45 am CDT

A judge in Michigan has revoked bail for a man accused of driving with a suspended license after the defendant summoned him to a court hearing via Zoom while driving.

Publications reporting on the May 15 hearing included Fox 13, the Detroit News and the New York Times.

“If someone faces a charge of driving with a suspended license,” noted The New York Times, “there are better ways to make your case than sitting behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.”

When Judge J. Cedric Simpson of Ann Arbor, Michigan, sees defendant Corey Harris, 44, on the video, he asks if he is driving.

“Actually, I’m pulling up to the doctor’s office, so give me a minute.” I’m just parking,” Harris replies.

After Harris is parked, Assistant Public Defender Natalie Pate asks for the hearings to be adjourned for up to four weeks. The judge does not respond to this request.

“So maybe I’m not understanding something,” says Simpson. “Is this driving while license suspended (case)?”

Pate confirms the allegations.

“And he was just driving and didn’t have a license,” Simpson continued.

“I don’t even know why he would do that,” Simpson says, before ordering Harris to report to the Washtenaw County Jail by 6 p.m.

The New York Times cited jail records showing Harris was booked into the Washtenaw County Jail on May 15. He was eventually released on bail.