I was saying he could have given me a fix it ticket for the bulb if he would have taken 2 seconds to look at it instead of stating I failed to signal which is not true.
Or, he could have given you a fix it ticket for your burnt out light bulb in addition to the failure to signal on a lane change. Again, he opted for what he opted for considering the fact that you had 3 reasons why you should not have been driving that car; 1. no license; 2. no insurance; 3. no working signal light bulb, I would quit nagging about it and say a prayer in thanks.
He probably didn't feel my petty traffic stop was worth the time sitting there waiting for a tow truck..
Would you be surprised if I told you the tow truck could have been there before the officer would have finished writing the citation?
Making my offense a Misdemeanor was satisfaction enough for him as I have read on several other sites that cops NEVER mark that offense as misdemeanor.
NEVER say NEVER... You are not the exception to the rule... With you knowingly driving with a license that expired NINE MONTHS prior to the stop can easily justify a misdemeanor...
Whether he marked it a misdemeanor or an infraction, (especially considering the fact that you have obtained your license and will present that so as to have that dismissed upon presenting proof of correction) when you show up for your arraignment, all offenses on that citation will be treated as infractions. You can however opt out of that and choose for your case to be transferred to criminal courtroom where it will be treated as a misdemeanor. I highly doubt that will work to your advantage in any way.
so when I go to court what do I do? Plead not guilty? Ask for it to be dismissed? Am I assigned a public defender before my arraignment?
When your name is called you're gonna walk up to the table, the judge will read your name and read you the charges.
My guess is he will handle the 12500 first, once he asks you how do you plead, you show your driver's license to the bailiff. He should dismiss that after ordering you to pay a $10 Admin fee to the clerk;
Next for the 16028, he will ask you if you had insurance at the time of the stop. You might wanna mention that you were waiting for low cost insurance papers to come back (and although it might not make a difference as to your guilt it might give him an indication that you cannot afford the full fine; he might offer you a reduced fine if you can show proof that you are currently insured; You will show your proof of insurance that is currently valid, plead guilty and request a reduced sentence. I have seen Judges cut the fine by as much as half but whatever you're offered, don't balk at it. Again, he's doing you a favor which he is not obligated to offer.
Lastly, the 21658... I think you're still unconvinced that you are guilty so I'll leave that one up to you... You can plead guilty, no contest or not guilty and the judge will either tell you what the fine is or he will schedule a trial date for you where you will have the opportunity to question/cross examine the officer as to what he did and why. But I can offer you the fact that you do not have a justifiable reason to plead anything but "guilty" or "no contest".
Good luck...