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June 7, 2024 - Lionel Nation
21:36
Corey Harris Has Been Libeled, Maligned and Humiliated by Social Media Trolls
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I want to give you a different perspective on a case that everybody's been laughing at.
Everybody's been.
I mean, including me!
I plead guilty because it reminded me of...
I hate to say it so many times that I've had clients who had scrapes with driver's licenses and administrative things, so my heart kind of both went to the judge and the defense lawyer, and I've had clients like this.
And it's the case of a fellow by the name of Corey Harris.
Now, Corey Harris has now been the subject of a meme.
He has been excoriated as a buffoon.
He's been libeled.
He's an idiot.
He's been called a liar.
Overnight, it's blown up.
And the case, the judge, is interesting.
J. Cedric Simpson seems to be pretty no-nonsense.
Doing my particular research, appears that J. Cedric Simpson...
Had a little bit of a brush-up with the Judicial Tenure Commission, who recommended a variety of sanctions against him, even removal for an alleged case involving the interference in the 4.30 a.m.
September 9, 2013 drunken driving arrest of his then-intern.
And subsequent prosecution.
So that's another case.
You can look that one up.
And I'm sure that the judge wouldn't want us to go through that again.
And I'm telling you right now, unless you know the full facts of the case, you don't know anything.
You can read a decision here and there.
But if we're going to be fair and if we're going to make fun of people, because, you know, let's really have fun.
And that's kind of what we're doing today.
That's what the internet does.
We love to mock.
I plead guilty.
I love it like the rest of you.
Because we've become trolls.
And in the case of Mr. Harris, I say to you that I think we owe him an apology.
And apologize.
For this excessive, brutal hate.
And is there a degree of racism to it?
Let me ask you a question.
Same facts of the case.
Assume everything is exactly the same case.
Same story.
Guy driving, he's in a Zoom call, but it's a 65-year-old white retiree, let's say a dentist or an older white woman or an older black woman or somebody who just looks kind of like...
You or me.
Whatever it is.
Same situation.
Maybe an Asian, maybe.
Do you think, do you think this case would have the same result?
Same facts.
Same everything.
Do you think people would find it as funny?
Now granted, he was rather, he showed some, you know, histrionics that mouth agape, you know, as he was contemplating the reality of the situation.
But I want you to pay attention to this.
This is the most critical.
And I want you to see if this makes any sense to you, right?
This is a case where we see another side to this, okay?
Became a meme.
After a viral court appearance, okay?
Ann Arbor is looking to set the record straight.
Thank you so much for joining us for 7 News Detroit at 6. I'm Carolyn Clifford.
And I'm Mike Duffy.
By the way, I love watching local news.
One of the few things that I really enjoy if I'm in a hotel in a new city, I like to see who their anchors are.
I don't know why, but they all look alike!
Every the same set, the way they hold their hands.
And it's so homogenized.
But I digress.
People couldn't believe Corey Harris logged into the hearing for a charge of driving on a suspended license while he was actually driving.
He was cited last October in Pittsfield Township.
That now infamous hearing was just last month.
Tonight, 7 News.
Stop right there.
Look at the way they're breaking this down.
This is the crime of the century.
I mean, this is like he's a mad dog killer.
He's a BTK.
He's the Green River Killer.
I mean, look at him.
And that zoom up in your face makes any reaction, any expression seem almost comical.
And the judge, I mean, I think the judge was very good, but the judge is kind of, sort of, let me tell you this.
Enjoying his meme status as well.
And we'll talk about that.
But look already.
Look at this.
Viral court appearance.
Man hopes to get license reinstated.
October 2023.
Driving with a suspended license.
May 2024.
Seen driving.
Virtual court hearing.
Ooh, look at the time lapse.
Look at this designation of this miscreant and a time lapse.
The history of this.
This public enemy number one.
Detroit reporter Kimberly Craig tells us Harris believes he's paying an unfair price for an honest mistake.
It has literally been pure OD hell.
Now, I don't know what OD hell is, but I'm with this gentleman right here 100%.
I've been assaulted.
I've been followed.
I've been laughed at.
I've been ridiculed.
I have been disrespected.
Corey Harris...
And I hope, by the way, he hasn't been followed while he's been driving, okay?
And that's the big joke.
Because you know this thing is going, it's not stopping.
This was the scene of the crime, so to speak.
This is planning to appear back in an Ann Arbor courtroom Wednesday with a new defense attorney, Dionne Webster-Cox.
My client doesn't want to go out here breaking the law.
He's a law-abiding citizen.
So now that we know what's going on, we're taking the steps to go forward to correct the problem, to put him in a situation where his license is improper.
Now, this is the moment.
This is the moment.
This is the moment.
Actually, I'm pulling into my doctor's office, actually.
So, just give me one second.
I'm parking right now.
Harris said he was driving to take his wife to the doctor.
He said his doctor's office, but that's okay.
Because her medical condition was worsening.
But when the judge could see Harris was driving during that virtual hearing for driving on a suspended driver's license, Harris's bond was revoked.
He spent two days in the Washtenaw County Jail.
Show a picture of the jail.
And the video spread across the internet like wildfire.
Wildfire indeed.
I don't even go on the internet anymore.
I deleted my Facebook, my Instagram, Twitter.
I deleted everything.
Harris said he had no idea he was driving on a suspended license back in October when he was first ticketed by...
Look at it, just stop.
Just, just, just, I mean, right off the bat, don't you feel like this man was allowed to walk the street?
Hunter Biden has been flaunting gun charges and cracking hookers.
And not only that, I mean, the people, the people, they go.
Now, by the way, this is not Michigan's fault.
This is, of course, the Internet's fault.
But look at this.
Drove, while licensed, suspended, denied.
Current charge, officer, agency.
Pittsfield Police Department, charge, misdemeanor.
Ooh.
And remember they said sex is a misdemeanor.
The more you misdemeanor you get.
You heard that one.
Pittsfield Township Police.
He thought the suspension that was tied to...
Record ID, source, type.
Child support suspension.
Let's bring that up!
He's a deadbeat dad.
Oh, that's terrific.
Unpaid child support had been lifted two years ago.
What was the reaction?
Now remember, this was one of the bases.
We'll get to this in a moment.
One of the bases of the suspension, allegedly.
Allegedly.
Now this, again, this, I think, misses the point of this man's humiliation.
Two years ago.
What was your reaction when he told you, so you have a suspended license?
I looked at him like, you gotta be joking, because...
All of this was supposed to have been taken care of already.
Records show a judge ordered that suspension lifted in January 2022, but a spokesperson for the Secretary of State said they never received a clearance from the friend of the court.
No one from the friend of the court responded to my calls last week.
By the way, the friend of the court, this is a very interesting thing.
The friend of the court, it's almost like an amicus, when you think amicus curia, it's done.
It's almost like a guardian ad litem.
It's people who help and assist in family court, child support, that sort of thing.
We had guardians ad litem in various jurisdictions.
So it's kind of a unique definition.
But today, a representative for Saginaw County's chief judge did respond and said the clearance was never sent to the Secretary of State because Harris did not pay the license clearance fee to their clerk's office.
Double, double miscreants.
He's the Al Capone of felonious driving.
Never told me a thing.
That's all they said was that they would be sending me some paperwork.
You trusted them, didn't you, Mr. Harris?
You trusted them.
Oh, have I got stories for you.
In the mail.
And here it is, 2024.
And I just received the paperwork that they were supposed to send me two years ago.
In front of the court.
Right.
They never said you had to pay a fee or anything.
No.
Right now, he needs to go and go to the...
He has an appointment with the Secretary of State.
Wait a minute.
Thursday.
So Thursday, he's going...
Let's get this in order.
In Southfield, Kimberly Craig, 7 News, Detroit.
Now, before we do this, since then, and please, they went through this, Judge Simpson, he never had a license.
I can't believe I'm going through all this stuff.
He never had a license.
He never had a license in his whole life.
He had an ID.
He had an ID.
Judge J. Cedric Simpson said he had an ID, and every year he would go to get the ID, replace the Michigan State ID, and in Michigan you can have an ID or a driver's license, but not both.
So he knew how to do one, but not the other, and he never had a license.
And all that means is they are suspending your driving privileges.
So you cannot drive in the state of Michigan.
You can have a license elsewhere, but you can't drive.
We saw this all the time in traffic court with DUIs and DWIs.
One of the sanctions, one of the Penalties was, we're going to revoke your license.
He doesn't have a license.
Well, we're going to revoke it again.
You know, that's like one time somebody said, there was a sentence to life, and somebody asked, is there time served?
No, no, no, no, excuse me, is there game time on life?
He said, in the hereafter, a lot of this stuff is surreal, you know?
So, here's the bottom line.
Number one, this is the way you do it.
And I've done this a million times.
It's so.
I don't want to say easy, but it's easy.
You pick up the phone.
Hello, Secretary of State.
My name is so-and-so.
I want to, and you better go down there, I want to make sure he is cleared.
What do we need to do?
You need to do this.
Thank you.
Is there a record I could have?
Is there something you can give me?
A piece of paper?
Something that shows this?
Yes.
Very good.
And is there...
We have a thing called a D6 clearance.
A D6 clearance was like your ticket to everything.
You got that and you can drive.
It means I took care of everything.
It's a get-out-of-jail-free card, okay?
So what do we need to do?
Is Mr. Harris's child support to take care of?
Yes.
May I have a document in that, please?
Yes, you are not.
He's not in arrears.
I want it from you, and I want it from you on letterhead that says he is in the clear.
Now, does he have a license, yes or no?
No.
Number two, has he ever had a license?
No.
We got some talking here, Mr. Harris.
We got to talk about this.
That judge is going to ask me whether you've ever had a license.
Here's one for you.
You ready for this?
What if you represent somebody and they're next to you, standing there in court, and the judge asked him, have you had a license?
Have you ever had a license before?
Have you been driving?
And there is a Fifth Amendment right that you have to not provide testimony against yourself.
You have the right to remain silent.
If it's self-incriminatory, you have the right to keep your posture.
Can you say, Your Honor, excuse me, I'd like to plead the Fifth.
That means he did it.
Oh, I've done that.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony?
Don't answer that.
What?
You can't really say, don't answer it.
You can say, on his behalf.
And the Constitution.
It gets really tough sometimes because the judge is trying to dispose of it and he's asking you questions and the truth, which will help him pound you and throw away the key regarding you, actually hurts you.
So, you know, you think this is traffic or like, oh, that's simple.
Oh, no, no!
It gets hairier, believe it or not, wilder than felony court.
And the worst, small claims.
But I digress.
So, that being said, I don't care whether he can drive.
I've had clients before, they can't do...
Anything, if it involves paperwork, and I'm not saying this is Mr. Harris' case, but I know people, if it involves paperwork or showing up, that's why many times people will say, all right, I'll continue you on probation or give you a year and a day in state prison.
I'll take a year and a day.
I had that happen one time.
I said, what?
I'll take a year and a day.
You want state prison?
Yes, I can't do probation.
I can't do this.
They put him on a bus.
They drove him.
He went to this processing place, turned around, and he says, we're going back.
They calculated that based upon his time served and administrative gain time, he was out.
If he'd have listened to me, he'd been on two more years probation and violated it.
And when you violate probation, it's even worse, because that's the setup.
The judge says...
I'm going to give you a break because I know you're not going to be able to make probation.
You can't do cost of supervision and all this.
They can't do that.
So, bottom line, he could be the worst criminal.
That being said, do you think this man deserved to have his case absolutely broadcast everywhere?
Do you think this is fair?
Do you?
Next question is, if not, what are we going to do about it?
I don't know.
The Sixth Amendment provides a right to a speedy and a public trial.
Public is good.
We want people to come in.
You don't want it to be like a star chamber where it's like, what is that in there?
Oh, that's just Simpson's traffic court.
Yeah.
Well, what goes on in there?
I don't know exactly.
But we hear a lot of screaming.
What?
Can't you go in there?
No, you can't.
You can't see this.
No.
You have a right to...
To public trials.
Exceptions, juvenile matters, sexual matters, children, adoption, divorce sometimes.
So we like the idea of public.
And Zoom and everything else, this is just an extension.
And look, this is the First Amendment because, I mean, after all, somebody could have been there, could have been a newspaper reporter, and could have written a story about it, which happens all the time.
That's okay.
But this is a different, this is the Wild West.
What this man went through was unfair.
To be subject to ridicule, to be subject to, to be, I mean, this absolute, and I'm telling you right now, if you don't think, and when I say there's a racial component, let me rephrase it.
It's because he's black, it's him, it's his look.
It's his countenance.
It's his style.
It's the way he looks.
It's that he just looks in total shock.
Don't tell me that a situation with the identical facts with somebody else would have garnered the same reaction.
Don't!
Same Judge Simpson asking the same things.
You were driving, Mrs., you know, whoever.
A 65-year-old retired insurance executive in a nice sport coat.
Do you think?
No!
Same thing.
Child support arrearage, deadbeat, whatever you want to call it.
No, it wouldn't.
So how do we fix that?
We can't fix that.
We can be aware of it.
We can ask ourselves sometimes, what are we doing?
Is this fair?
Is this fair by any stretch of the imagination?
I don't know.
I don't think so.
So I am...
In defense, not of what Mr., not the scofflaw, Mr. Harris, but I'm in defense of him and his right to be let alone and to not be subjected to this international, universal, it's all over the place.
Now, what I would do is this.
I would first of all get an agent.
I would own this.
I would be on every show.
I would get public appearances.
I would do endorsements for driving schools, for insurance companies, own a taxi, be an Uber driver, whatever it is.
I would own this.
Because in our particular country, and our country, there's no difference between fame and infamy.
No such thing.
You're a viral?
Use it.
Use it.
Exploit it.
Enjoy it.
Make fun of it.
Own it.
Do public services.
Whatever it is.
Hello, you probably don't know me, but my name is...
That's me, Mr. Zoom.
Make sure that I...
If you need a lawyer, call...
Whoa, whatever it is.
Morgan& Morgan, for the people.
Use this.
You know, make lemonade and all that stuff.
But aside from that, this man...
Can you imagine the ridicule, the laughing, and how mean and how people troll?
All right, my friends.
That's it for me.
Be careful, Mr. Harris.
Please get a license once and for all.
We'll help you.
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