Driving while license revoked (DWLR), a Class 1 misdemeanor, is one of the most frequently charged criminal offenses in North Carolina. And, while certain elements of the offense are spelled out in G.S. 20-28 and are relatively straightforward—namely that the person (1) operated a motor vehicle, (2) on a highway, (3) while the person’s license was suspended or revoked—the last element, that the person had knowledge of the revocation, is not set forth in G.S. 20-28, nor is it always easily explained or understood. The state supreme court first held in State v. Atwood, 290 N.C. 266 (1976), that the legislature intended that a defendant have actual or constructive knowledge that his or her license had been suspended or revoked before the defendant could be convicted of violating G.S. 20-28(a). The Atwood court based this determination on the requirement in G.S. 20-16(d) that DMV notify a person that his or her license is suspended or revoked and provide an opportunity for a hearing on the matter. Atwood’s license was suspended based upon her conviction within 12 months of two offenses of speeding over 55 miles per hour. Then, as now, G.S. 20-16 afforded DMV discretion regarding whether to revoke a person’s license for this reason and required that DMV provide an opportunity for a hearing in the event it elected to do so. While some license revocations are discretionary, like that in Atwood, many are not. G.S. 20-17(a) sets forth offenses for which conviction requires that DMV revoke a person’s driver’s [...]
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