Judge shocked after man with suspended driver's license shows up to court Zoom call while driving

The May 15 hearing in Ann Arbor was for Corey Harris, whose case involved his suspended license. 

The assistant public defender introduced herself to Judge Cedric Simpson as Harris dialled into the Zoom hearing.

When Harris joined the call, something about him caught the eye of District Judge J. Cedric Simpson - Not only was there a seat belt across the defendant’s body, but he was in a moving vehicle.

"Mr. Harris, are you driving?" Simpson asked the defendant.

"Actually, I’m pulling into my doctor’s office actually," Harris said. "Just give me one second. I'm parking right now."

Simpson was seen impatiently waiting for Harris to bring his vehicle to a stop. 

Once the proceeding began, Harris' attorney asked Simpson for an adjournment for "possibly up to four weeks if the court would allow."

"OK, so maybe I don’t understand something. This is a driving while license suspended [case]," Simpson told the public defender. "And he was just driving, and he doesn't have a license."

Harris appears to be at a loss for words as the bemused judge appears astonished. People in the courtroom too, appear visibly bemused. 

After some moments of utter confusion, the judge appears to have had enough of the shenanigans. 

"I don't even know why he would do that," Simpson said. "So, the defendant's bond is revoked in this matter."

He then ordered Harris to turn himself into the Washtenaw County Jail by 6 p.m. that day.

"Oh my God," Harris is heard whispering in disbelief as he throws his head back. 

His attorney then said she would be calling him soon, to which he says, "OK!"

The two-and-a-half-minute Zoom call was posted on YouTube as part of the judge's six-hour criminal docket for May 15.

From there, it picked up steam on X where countless people posted it as it gained millions of views and reactions from around the world. 

"I can't tell which is better, the judge's expression or the defendant's," one person commented.

Another X user said, "Anyone this dumb needs to be institutionalized anyway. We can't have such clowns walking in the same streets as us! He deserves jail!"

"You know you have an upcoming hearing on driving with a suspended licence and you still show up to court DRIVING!" another user commented. "He could've just gotten out of the vehicle before logging in! What a waste of humanity!"

"Forget critical thinking," Karen Gate said. "Do people even think any more?"