I understand that it may be possible to win a court case...however comma,
I think I'm in a little different situation than most people, here are my reasons...
1) I wouldn't feel right about trying to "win". I'm an honest person, and I couldn't go up in front of a judge and claim that my exhaust is legal. I wouldn't be able to sleep that night. No, the cop didn't have a "calibrated device", but he and I both knew that it was illegal. End of story, I was guilty.
2) The only way I could win would be to lie about my exhaust. Not only does that go against my morals and values as a person, but it violates the honor oath I took when I became a Cadet. It isn't worth lying over a $60 ticket, when I would be putting my entire career in jeopardy. As a senior, I have alredy commited to service, so if I get kicked out, (which is almost a for sure thing for lying), I would either have to pay back the monetary value of my education (they say 4 years is worth close to $400k), or pay back 2 years enlisted. Do the math yourself, but not worth it to me.
3) If I pay the ticket, the entire issue is dropped. If I go to court, I'd be required to inform my commander, which I DO NOT want to do. Because then I'd also be subject to Academy punishment, which is most likely lots of confinments. (sitting in full service uniform, in my room, at my desk, feet flat on floor, door open, only studying military or academics). I'd probably get about 20 confinments or so, which is 40 hours of that.
4) (perhaps the biggest issue) I represent the Academy, the Air Force, and the armed forces in general. If I showed up in court either in uniform or not, it becomes clear that I'm a cadet, and that brings discredit to the Academy, which it most definitely does not need.
You may all think that I'm full of crap, and that I'm way overthinking this, and making it a big deal. After all, its just a exhaust infraction. I don't think the fact that I have loud exhuast makes me a bad person, but trying to get out of it, when I am clearly at fault does not sit well with me. I think this for the 4 reasons above, but more importantly, for the reason that I don't feel right about trying to get out of it.
I guess I should have thought harder before I started this thread. I made it while I was still angry about the ticket, not giving myself time to really think about it. Thanks for reading.