I don't at all see how you could get in trouble for "refusing" to show your license. You'd just say you didn't realize you had it. (This is relevant to my interests; in Chicago, your DL is also your bond on tickets, and also, when you get a new license, you get a paper temp license day-of, good for several months, and the real license in the mail; I'm holding on to the paper temp and denying possession of the real one if I'm ever pulled over, because getting bonded DL's back is a giant pain.)
I'd be interested in knowing whether you could point me to a state that explicitly says not updating your address is a misdemeanor.
Sure. It's a misdemeanor in Minnesota (171.11): http://mncourts.gov/mncourtsgov/media/scao_library/Statewide...
I was also going to say North Carolina, but it appears they've changed it: http://www.theeastcarolinian.com/news/article_5137386e-2256-...
Sure, that might work.
But a likely scenario is the officer will ask your name and DOB and look you up on his MDT and now you've got three tickets (including whatever you were pulled over for because now it is definitely not going to be a warning) instead of just one.
Another scenario is the officer discovers you have your license and are just refusing to show your license. In California, and other states, you've now escalated a simple ticket to a misdemeanor with large fine and possible jail time.
Another scenario is you just update your address with the DMV and don't risk compounding your problems during a traffic stop.