ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — "It's very embarrassing," said Corey Harris, 44, about learning that video showing him driving during a recent court hearing went viral.
"With the type of ties that I have with the church and the community, it's very embarrassing."
Harris appeared before Judge Cedric Simpson in Ann Arbor earlier this month for a misdemeanor charge of driving on a suspended license.
VIDEO: Watch the court hearing and see the judge's reaction below:
7 News Detroit asked Harris what was he thinking when he made his appearance in court via video where he was seen driving.
"What was I thinking? I was thinking about about getting my wife medical help. That's what I was thinking," Harris said. "I wasn't thinking about the fact that I got a suspended license. I don't care about all that."
Simpson ordered Harris to report to the Washtenaw County Jail that day by 6 p.m.
But Harris told us that he never should have been charged with driving on a suspended license last fall, and he blames the mix-up on Saginaw Friend of the Court.
"They were supposed to have been lifted it two years ago, but they didn't," Harris said.
Secretary of State records show Harris' license was first suspended in 2010 for unpaid child support in Saginaw County.
Then in 2022, court records show that a judge rescinded that suspension, allowing Harris to drive again. But it appears that information never got to the Secretary of State where even as of Thursday afternoon, Harris' license is still listed as suspended — the same records police and the judge were going by.
Harris spent two days in jail. And Thursday, Harris said he went back to the Secretary of State to try to resolve the matter.
We reached out to the director of Saginaw's Friend of the Court in hopes of asking what may have gone wrong in Harris' case. We're waiting on their response.
Harris said, "Always double-check behind these workers because they will say that they will do something and they don't do it," Harris said.
