...And Justice for All?

My spotless driving record is now a thing of the past. Almost a decade of citation-free automobile use dashed in a single moment. The offense? Speeding? No. Rolling through a stop sign? No. DWI? No. The offense..."Failure to reduce speed when passing an emergency vehicle." That's right. Now under normal circumstances I'd take my licks and move on, however, several circumstances have forced me to stand and fight, figuratively of course. First, there's the offense. True it is illegal to pass an emergency vehicle without reducing your speed 20 mph or taking an available lane in Texas. However, circumstances in this situation are different. As I topped the hill, there was the police car, on a two lane road, pulled over onto the shoulder. With traffic behind me I was left with no choice but to take the other lane, as slowing my speed 20 miles an hour would have resulted in an accident. Second, the officer that pulled me over had pulled out of a convenience store a half mile before she got to the scene, thus setting the "trap". She wasn't assisting, she was waiting for some poor moron (i.e. me) to pass on that hill. I argued my case with her, calmly, to which she replied "If you knew any officers who had been killed on the highway..." I probably didn't handle the rest well, as I told her "don't give me that bullsh#t, I know plenty of cops." Could have handled it better. Third, it was in Runaway Bay Texas, population 1108. One major highway passes through this town, and it's well known throughout the region that this whole stretch of highway is a trap. I travel it no less than a half dozen times a month, and the minute I pass the city limits sign I'm rolling in stealth mode. So. I got a ticket. Turns out the ticket is good for $200.00, not to mention the increase in insurance premiums until the end of time. So I call the municpal "judge" and ask what I should do. She assumes that my ticket is for speeding (which indicates to me that she's dealt with several of these). I tell her no, that it's for failure to reduce blah blah blah, to which she replies "Oh, well that's a hefty little fine...260 dollars." Nevermind the fact that the state law says it's a maximum of 200 dollars. So I ask what I can do. Turns out that if she "approves" it I can take defensive driving. That'll cost me 103 bucks to the court, ten bucks to get my driving record, and then another fifty to take the course. IF she approves it. If she doesn't, I'm requesting a jury trial, during the course of which I will personally mentally beat down everyone in the room for hours. I'll have graphs, charts, Powerpoint presentations, witnesses that have nothing to say, the works. I will get my 260 dollars worth out of it. Chances are that won't happen. I'll probably take the defensive driving, eat 160 bucks, and call it a day. But I won't forget. Oh no. One of these days the Runaway Bay PD will need something from me. Could be money. Could be a lift. Could be a life (as this woman desparately needed one). But no, they'll get none of that from me. It will be a silent vengence to be sure. So this'll be the last you hear of my recent brush with injustice, unless I wind up in contempt of court and in a cell with Cletus. Let's hope that doesn't happen.