Zoom Courtroom Chaos Continues: Defendant Attends License Hearing From Behind the Wheel
Ann Arbor, Michigan – May 15, 2024 – Four years into the era of virtual courtrooms, and it seems like we’re nowhere close to running out of “you’ve got to be kidding me” moments. The latest head-scratcher? A Michigan man decided to attend his virtual hearing for a suspended license…wait for it… while driving a car. Yeah, you read that right. It’s enough to make even the most seasoned judge spit out their coffee.
“Mr. Harris, Are You Driving?”
This episode of “Zoom Courtroom Gone Wild” went down in Washtenaw County’s 14A District Court, with Judge Cedric Simpson presiding. The defendant, Corey Harris, saunters into the Zoom call sporting sunglasses and a seatbelt, very clearly in the driver’s seat and on the move.
Judge Simpson, doing his best to keep a straight face, directly asks Harris, “Mr. Harris, are you driving?”
Harris, cool as a cucumber (or at least trying to be), responds, “I’m pulling into my doctor’s office, actually. So just give me one second, I’m parking right now.” He then proceeds to clam up about why he’s at the doctor in the first place.
Judge Simpson, probably wondering if he’d stumbled onto the set of a hidden camera show, patiently waits for Harris to park. Once he’s in park, Harris confirms he’s no longer behind the wheel. But Judge Simpson isn’t about to let the sheer ridiculousness of the situation slide.
“He Was Just Driving, and He Doesn’t Have a License” – The Irony is Not Lost
With a healthy dose of sarcasm, Judge Simpson points out the obvious: “He was just driving and he doesn’t have a license.” After confirming with Harris’s lawyer, Washtenaw County Assistant Public Defender Natalie Pate, that his license was indeed suspended, Judge Simpson decides he’s seen enough. He revokes Harris’s bond and orders him to report to the Washtenaw County jail by 6 p.m. that day.
Harris’s reaction? Let’s just say the defeated sigh and head slump caught on camera spoke volumes.
As you can imagine, the footage blew up online faster than a TikTok trend. Some people found the whole thing hilarious, while others felt bad for Ms. Pate, who had been trying to get the case adjourned before her client’s, shall we say, ill-timed Zoom cameo.
Speaking to Fox 2, Ms. Pate, a true champion for her clients, reiterated her commitment to finding alternatives to jail time for nonviolent offenses. She politely declined to comment specifically on Harris’s case, probably because she needed to save her energy for, you know, cases that didn’t involve blatant disregard for the law during a court hearing.
Zoom Court: Where the Wild Things Are
This incident is just the latest in a long line of “Wait, did that really just happen?” moments that have plagued virtual courtrooms since the pandemic forced them into existence.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we?