The elements that establish whether a defendant was driving while his or her license is revoked, follow G.S. 20-28(a), and require that the defendant (1) drove (2) a motor vehicle (3) on a
highway (4) with a revoked license (5) knowing it was revoked. This statute has historically been interpreted not to support charges of driving while license revoked outside of either North or South Carolina. Therefore, the major question at hand here is whether one who has had a license revoked in another state and drives in North or South Carolina can be charged with driving while license revoked. N.C. Gen Stat. 20-28(a)(2012).
The short answer is that out-of-state revocations do not qualify for a driving while license revoked under the statute. The requirement that the termination be stated in an order of revocation or suspension corresponds to the requirement that the State prove that a defendant had actual or constructive knowledge of the revocation to obtain a conviction under G.S. 20-28(a). Separate provisions in the statute authorize the NC DMV to suspend or revoke the driving privileges of nonresidents in the same manner as it may for residents and prohibit a person from operating under foreign license while subject to such revocation order.Id.
So, it is possible to argue that an out-of-state revocation is a revocation for the purposes of the statute. If someone loses his or her license in another state, the revocation of the nonresident’s valid license in his or her home state “terminates” the non-resident’s privilege to drive in North Carolina, thereby arguably satisfying the definition of revocation in G.S. 20-4.01(36). However, it may be difficult for the State to prove that a defendant was notified of a revocation issued by another jurisdiction.
Further, there are not appellate court cases that consider these arguments, which fall on the side of the argument that only North Carolina revocations are considered, and more than 160,000 charges of driving with a license revocation were filed in North Carolina in 2012.
This statute is very convoluted and difficult to decipher. Some, who are operating with a revoked out of North Carolina license, may be subject to charges for driving with a suspended license in North Carolina. While this law is still undecided, it is a very arguable topic in North Carolina courts.
