Q: Im charged with DUS 3RD ... what happens if i show up with my drivers license?

A: MORE INFO would help. By "DUS" I'm assuming the question refers to Driving Under Suspension. In North Carolina we normally refer to that as Driving While License Revoked or DWLR.

There also really isn't a legal delineation or special charge for DWLR 1st, 2nd or 3rd, except as it may pertain to additional periods of revocation or suspension.

Put simply, it's complicated. It also can be quite serious. The BIG line of demarcation is Driving While License Revoked due to an Impaired Driving Revocation.

Gracious, the best advice at this point is to retain an experienced attorney, especially one well-versed in DWLR related citations and sentencing issues.

If the revocation is based on an DWLR-DWI Revocation, new driving charges actually carry at least the potential for what I call the "triple-whammy."

Not only are they new criminal charges (misdemeanors), they also can impact a Suspended Sentence on the underlying DWI or other prior DWLR, assuming there remains some level of control by the Court under Supervised or Unsupervised Probation.

Jurisdictions in North Carolina can vary on how they regard these types of cases.

In Charlotte-Mecklenburg for example, the DA's Office (and the Judges) don't take a shine to DWLR Impairment cases. It's understandable Judges (and DA's) get a bit frosted when someone keeps driving, especially when the basis of the suspension or revocation involves DWI.

It comes off as, "I don't care what you say, I'm gonna keep driving. You can't stop me."

That isn't intended to be critical. Rather, it's just an explanation of some "whys-and-wherefores" of the Judicial System.

In addition to there being possible implications of new criminal charges, and old, suspended sentences, there's another serious ramification: DMV and the ability to drive, legally, in the future, be it near or far.

Generally speaking, there is a pretty basic formula when it comes to NC DMV: Get a new moving violation while suspended, Get suspended even longer. Do it some more, get suspended more-and-more-and-more.

This is what I refer to the slow DMV Waltz, where there is suspension-after-suspension due to continued driving, continued convictions, and ever-increasing periods of suspension as a punishment or consequence of sorts.

North Carolina as a whole is really working on getting DWLR issues cleared up. There are some pretty progressive laws now to help people. That's changed.

When I first started practicing law, gracious how time flies (it's been since 1992!), NC had an offense called Driving While License Permanently Revoked. It was a big deal. It carried a MANDATORY 30 day active term.

That law has now since been removed from the books; yet, that does NOT mean a Judge cannot impose an active term for some cases. There is a correlation between repeated driving violations, license suspensions, failure to comply with judgments, and jail.

Repeated convictions / moving violations, and failure to comply with suspended sentences which include conditions like treatment, payment of fines, costs, and community service can gut a chance to drive, legally.

Talk to an attorney IMMEDIATELY.

Bill Powers

North Carolina Criminal Defense

CarolinaAttorneys.com