Corey Harris, Michigan driver from viral court case, finally gets his learner's permit

A Michigan man who caused a stir by getting behind the wheel during his virtual court hearing on a traffic violation has finally received his learner's permit, according to his attorney.

Dionne Webster-Cox said People that her notorious client Corey Harris took “a step in the right direction” last Friday when he went to the office of the Michigan Secretary of State, who is responsible for motor vehicle regulations, and passed a theory test.

Harris was filmed by Webster-Cox as she walked into the office, took the test and then danced outside afterward. An edited and sped-up compilation of the clips was posted by the lawyer on Instagram on Monday. “Congratulations! Yay!” she appears to say, laughing.

To Peopleshe added, “One day does not determine the rest of your life, everything can change in one day.”

Harris, 44, inadvertently went viral after footage of his May 15 hearing circulated online. In the video, Harris sighs as he pulls into a parking lot, much to the astonishment of the Michigan state judge overseeing the proceedings.

“Mr. Harris,” said Judge J. Cedric Simpson. “Are you driving?”

The judge ordered Harris, who allegedly drove without a license the previous October, to turn himself in to police that same evening. Weeks after the driver spent two nights in jail for the violation, however, the story took a strange turn: A local ABC affiliate reported that Harris's license suspension was supposed to be lifted in 2022 due to an apparent clerical error.

WXYZ examined Saginaw County court records and found that Harris was never informed of the $125 fee he was supposed to pay to begin the final phase of the process to clear his record. Harris told the station that his 15 minutes of fame, which he described as humiliating, could have easily been avoided without bureaucratic incompetence.

“Always double-check these employees because they say they are going to do something and then they don’t do it,” he said.

But Simpson put a stop to the whole thing shortly afterwards. At a hearing last week, as The Daily Beast reported at the time, he told the court that Harris had never had a driving licence – just an identity card – and in fact he had his driving licence Privileges suspended last year.

“And quite frankly, I just wish he had said that right at the beginning and all this fuss could have been put to rest,” the judge remarked dryly.

Webster-Cox, who took over Harris' case after the May 15 hearing, promised Simpson that her client was taking steps to make things right. She said Harris had an appointment for his learner's test later in the week.

With this authorization in hand, a copy of it was received PeopleHarris can take his driving test to get a full license as early as July 7. He is scheduled to appear before Simpson again a month later, after which his misdemeanor charge could be downgraded to a civil violation, Webster-Cox said.

“It will be a feel-good story,” she told the magazine.