One of the first lessons that's taught up here at Yale is that, while the American legal system has its flaws, the alternatives are worse by FAR!

Consider your scenario. By your own admission, you were facing a "career-ending conviction" --- a conviction that was reduced to a mere fine by an attorney who charged you only $1,300 total. Assuming that the attorney billed at $125/hour (a fairly modest rate), that's under 11 hours of service for everything from the actual courtroom representation, to submiting materials, all the way down to speaking with you about your situation when this all got started. Even if all of that doesn't come to 11 hours (though it seems reasonable that it would), it's a bargain compared to the damage you could have incurred.

Granted, this is the post-holiday season --- most don't want to think about the bills they already have let alone a $1,300 legal charge and an $100 extra fine on top of that. Then again, most police officers don't issue one citation (much less multiple citations) without due cause. Take this incident as a freebie --- pay your tiny $100 fine and pay it gladly. Don't expect any worthwhile outcome from the US DOJ because first of all, it doesn't seem as though you have anything to appeal; and second, even if you do, that will entail more legal representation (which doesn't seem worthwhile to settle a $100 fine even if you had the budget to hire an attorney to represent you on a matter of principle).

I know, this probably isn't what you want to hear --- but remember what I mentioned at the beginning of this post; sometimes, we have to put up with the modest imperfections of our legal and government systems to enjoy the larger benefits they endow!

Brad