The justice system is truly blind. I have a completely clean driving record. Quite literally a blank page. I hit a deer driving home a month ago, and called the police to come out and make a report. The officer realized my drivers license had expired on my birthday 3 weeks ago - so he arrested me. Luckily my wife was already on her way with a friend, because he called a towing company to come impound the car as well. Insurance was up to date, registration was up to date. I had merely forgetten to renew my license. What many folks don't realize in Michigan is that it's a CRIMINAL offense, not a traffic or civil infraction. That means you need to go get a lawyer immediately and you get arraigned and the whole spiel. It's a multi-year fine along with up to 6 months in jail. For a first offense.
Alabama? 90 day grace period, no problem.
Other states make it a civil penalty. Some don't have a penalty at all other than a late fee.
It's pretty fucked up, really. My wife got pretty upset with the judge at the arraignment. She asked if he thought he was serving the community by taking a engineer who volunteers his time 6 months out of the year and hasn't had a speeding ticket in 13 years off the street.
When you venture into a federal offense, they can essentially do what they want.