This afternoon we learnt about two individuals who fell foul of issues which can occur when participating in ZOOM calls.
First out of the bag was a man from Michigan, COREY HARRIS, who was appearing via a ZOOM link to a pre-trial hearing.
It seems he had been caught driving even though his driving licence had been suspended.
District Judge, Cedric Simpson, reacted with disbelief when Mr Harris joined the call with his car seatbelt clearly visible across his torso and his car in motion.
“Mr. Harris, are you driving?” Judge Simpson asked the defendant.
“Actually, I’m pulling into my doctor’s office,” Harris replied. “So just give me one second…I’m parking right now.”
The stunned judge asked Mr Harris’s lawyer, “Am I missing something here, this is a driver with a licence suspended?’
When the lawyer confirmed the facts, the judge said, “‘He’s suspended and he’s just driving. Why would he do that?’
He then ordered Mr Harris to turn himself in at the Washtenaw County Jail by 6pm that day, where he then spent the next two days behind bars.
Sporting a yellow T-Shirt, bearing the words, TRUST ME, Mr Harris eventually appeared before Judge Simpson in person.
Curiously it seems that in Michigan, you can either have an ID or a licence – but not both and in fact Mr Harris had never held a driving licence!
Likewise a person can have suspensions applied to their driving privileges even if they don’t hold a valid driver’s license.
The suspension issued against Mr Harris involved an unpaid sum of money owed against a child support case dating back to 2010. Even if the person involved was able to obtain a driver’s license, they would still not have the privilege of driving until they cleared their suspensions.
Although 2 years ago a judge had ordered his suspension be lifted, since he failed to pay the outstanding fees to the clerk’s office, the court never confirmed the lifting of the suspension.
In fact it has since emerged that the defendant has now settled the outstanding fee and been granted a learner’s permit.
Meanwhile someone else caught out in embarrassing circumstances during a ZOOM call was Cesar Maia, a three time mayor of Rio De Janeiro, who logged into a council meeting whilst sitting on the loo.
Chairman of the meeting, Pablo Mello politely suggested that it would probably be best if Mr Maia disconnected his camera, but in fact he merely adjusted the camera to feature his face rather than the fuller picture which had already clearly shown his location with his trousers round his ankles.
How embarrassing!
Of course being a Tuesday, I was joined once again during the second hour by Margaret Mills who took us back to the winter of 1766, and specifically to Billericay, where on the 18th January the town was hit by a blizzard with snow lying between 6 and 10 feet deep.
Not surprisingly this resulted in the Rochford to London coach becoming totally buried. Apparently it required the efforts of 30 men over a period of 3 days to clear a path and free the coach.
You can hear more here: –
Hope to see you next week,
Scott
