AM I in danger of losing my licence

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arizonamaddy

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I recently moved to Va and changed my license in 7/09, before that i lived in CA and before that AZ. I was recently pulled over and informed I had a suspended license and was sited for driving on a suspended license. The officer told me it had to do with something from an old DUI conviction I had from AZ and was suspended by the VADMV. When I went to the DMV to find out what was going on they told me that a letter had been sent to my apartment via certified letter telling me that I needed a fr-44 and that if i didn't submit one that my license would be suspended. I never recieved this letter nor did I ever sign for it. I live in a large apartment complex and my bet would be hat the USPS never delivered it. At any rate, the DMV suspended my license. I went ahead and submitted a fr-44 and paid the $160 to get my license reinstated so I would be legal. When I looked up the law requireing me to get the fr-44, it said people with DUI convictions were required to carry a fr-44 for 3 years from the date there suspensions were up. My conviction date was 12/4/05 and my original suspension was up on 5/23/06. Both dates are more than the 3 year limit for the fr-44. When I brought this up with the DMV they said that Virginia was adding an aditional year, because had I been convicted in VA I would have had a 1 year suspension so I had to carry the fr for 4 years from my conviction. This gives me a couple questions.
1. How can VA retroactively punish me for a crime committed in AZ, especially when I satisfied all parts of my sentence from AZ.
2. Does this happen often? Shouldn't my 3 year requirement have been up 5/09 before I actually moved to VA?
3. I have m license back, but still have a court date on Dec 10th for driving on a suspended license. Do I need to get a lawyer, is the judge goig to treat me like I was actually driving on a suspended license even though I hd no idea it was suspended?
Had I known I need this special insurance in the state of VA when I got my license I would have just gotten it, but as this is only one of 2 or 3 states that has this requirement I had no idea. How is it that DUI is the only crime that it is ok to keep tacking on penalties. If I were a convicted rapist and served a 15 year sentence in AZ, got out of jail and moved to VA they wouldn't be able to add time to my sentence. I admit getting a DUI is stupid and a mistake, but ow long do I have to pay for it. I fulfilled every part of my punishment in AZ and now VA has decided to exercise a pound of flesh for a crime that was committed 2800 miles outside of its bourder.
 
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