Judge Livid as Woman Attends Online Court Hearing While Driving: Safety and Legal Concerns Raised

This week, a judge from the Detroit area found himself in an unexpected situation as he reprimanded a woman who appeared to be driving while attending a court hearing through a video call. The incident took place during a session presided over by Judge Michael K. McNally in the Woodhaven district court.

Kimberly Carroll was scheduled for an appearance on Monday afternoon, as reported by Fox 2 Detroit. At the time, attorney Brian Groen was in the process of seeking a default judgment against her for the amount of $1,921.85, right before Carroll joined the hearing via Zoom.

Just as Judge McNally was about to approve the default judgment, the court clerk noticed an unfamiliar iPhone attempting to connect to the Zoom session. According to the Detroit Free Press, it was soon discovered that Carroll was trying to join the call.

Recognizing the situation, Judge McNally instructed Carroll to activate her camera and ensure her name was properly displayed on her Zoom account. The unexpected development added a layer of complexity to what might have otherwise been a straightforward court proceeding.

Court officials then realized it was Carroll trying to join the call, at which point McNally told her to turn her camera on and to ensure she had her name listed on her account. 

The defendant then apparently tried to justify her late arrival to the hearing. 

‘I was sitting in some room or something and then I didn’t know I was just staring at myself. I’m sorry,’ she said.

When she then turned on her camera, Carroll could be seen sitting on the left side of a vehicle, apparently driving it. 

‘You cannot be driving ma’am,’ McNally then told her. ‘What are you doing?’  

Kimberly Carroll signed into a court hearing in Michigan on Monday apparently driving a vehicle

Judge Michael K McNally told the defendant she could not be driving during the hearing

Carroll then claimed she was the passenger in the vehicle, claiming she was ‘going out of town for a family member’ and would get her ‘driver’ to pull over.

But McNally, who is the longest-serving judge of Michigan’s 33rd District Court, was not buying into her story.

‘Am I crazy, or does it not look like you’re driving that car?’ he asked the defendant, who then doubled down on her claims she is a passenger.

At that point, the judge could be seen leaning in closer to view Carroll’s stream.

‘What side of the car are you on?’ he decided to ask her, to which she responded that she was on the left side, which would be the side with the steering wheel.

‘How would you be on the left-hand side if you’re a passenger in the front seat? Am I missing something?’ McNally asked.

The question seemed to fluster Carroll, who then seemed to try to change her answer.

‘Left-hand, right-hand side,’ she quickly corrected herself. ‘I’m sorry, I’ve been sitting in a room. I don’t know.’ 

Yet McNally continued his questioning – noting that the seatbelt appeared to be coming out of the driver’s side.

Carroll, who had joined the Zoom hearing late, insisted to the judge she was the passenger in the vehicle

McNally could be seen in the taped hearing growing more frustrated with Carroll, whom he accused of ‘lying’ to him

‘Now you’re lying to me, right?’ he asked Carroll, who proceeded to triple down on her claim that she was just the passenger.

Apparently growing more frustrated with Carroll’s answers, the judge then demanded to see the driver, but Carroll told him to wait a second and that she would need to get the driver’s permission to be on camera.

But McNally wasn’t deterred, as he began demanding to see the driver at that very moment.

Instead, Carroll could be seen exiting the vehicle, with a window clearly behind her, indicating she was sitting in the front seat.  

‘Do you think I’m that stupid?’ the judge then asks her, as he announced he was ending the hearing and would agree to enter the default judgment.

He explained that he would not hear cases from ‘people driving or sitting in cars,’ and asked the court clerk to write down that Carroll ‘was not available at the time and then was driving a car and telling the court she was not.’

When Carroll then reentered the vehicle, she seemed to argue that she signed into the hearing at the proper time.

‘You got an attitude with you, I’ll tell you that,’ McNally responded. ‘You got an attitude. Good luck to you.’

Carroll has since released a statement saying she takes responsibility ‘for my mistake.’

After McNally demanded to see the driver, Carroll got out of the vehicle

‘Appearing on a Zoom court hearing while I was driving was poor judgment and I regret that decision,’ she said. ‘I panicked in the moment and made the wrong call instead of pulling over or asking to reschedule.

‘For that I am truly sorry.

‘At the same time, I believe what has happened since then has gone far beyond addressing a mistake,’ Carroll continued, claiming: ‘A brief moment of poor judgment has turned into a viral spectacle that is affecting my reputation, my family and my ability to move forward with my life.

‘I respect the court and the rule of law, but I also believe in fairness and proportionality,’ she said. ‘The question I’m left asking is whether this situation needed to become a public example at the expense of someone’s livelihood and dignity.

‘I am human. I made a mistake, I own that mistake and I am willing to accept the consequences,’ Carroll concluded. 

‘But I hope people will also consider whether the response has been about accountability, or about turning a moment into something far bigger than it needed to be.’

The incident comes two years after Corey Harris signed into a court hearing in Ann Arbor to answer to charges stemming from a traffic stop months earlier

He was said to have a suspended license – leading Judge Cedric Simpson to express disbelief over his signing into the hearing behind the wheel

This is not the first time a Michigander got in trouble for driving during a Zoom court hearing.

In 2024, Corey Harris called into a court hearing in Ann Arbor to answer to charges stemming from a traffic stop months earlier.

He was said to have a suspended license at the time – leading Judge Cedric Simpson to express disbelief over his signing into such a hearing behind the wheel.

But it was later revealed Harris wasn’t driving on a suspended license – he never even had one.

‘He has never had a license, ever!’ Simpson said. ‘And [he] has never had a license in any of the other 49 states or commonwealths that make up this country.’

The judge went on to explain how Harris had his driving privileges suspended, not his license, and also had a non-driving state ID.