Corey Harris, the Michigan man who went viral online for appearing behind the wheel of a car in virtual attendance for his court hearing for driving with a suspended license, can finally get behind the wheel legally. On Aug. 7, Harris took responsibility for a civil infraction, according to his lawyer, Dionne Webster-Cox.
In June, Harris got his driving permit, and as of this month, he has obtained his full license, according to People
. Webster-Cox described the total proceedings as dragging on for nearly a year.Judge J. Cedric Simpson, who presided over the case, waived all the associated fines and costs with the charges and downgraded it from a misdemeanor.
“It was a great day for Mr. Harris,” Webster-Cox told People. She added, “In the face of public ridicule, Mr. Harris did not become discouraged. He stayed the course and finished the race.”
In 2023, Harris was pulled over in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for having an expired license plate. When asked to produce his license, he did not have one. Webster-Cox said that Harris’ driving privileges had been suspended in 2007, so he was charged with misdemeanor driving while his license was suspended.
On May 15, Harris went viral for zooming into his court hearing from the driver’s seat of a car. The judge asked, “Mr. Harris, are you driving?”
Harris parked the car, not recognizing that driving violated his suspension.
The judge ordered Harris to turn himself in at Washtenaw County Jail that same day. The Zoom session, which was public, was seen by millions.
Harris defended himself by saying that he was confused about the status of his license, and Webster-Cox described him as being worried about people from his church judging him for his viral mistake. The embarrassment led him to get to work to conclude the trials and proceedings–and to get his license.
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