LogFAQs > #886145790

Personally, I love the "what crime have I commited?", or "am I free to go?" people. They serve a great purpose of educating themselves, the public, officers, and even sometimes testing how exactly a law should be applied. She, however, needs to brush up on her laws, instead of trying to shoehorn one case into her own situation.

1. You are required, by law, to carry a valid driver's license issued by a state when operating a motor vehicle.

2. If you are pulled over for a valid reason (<-- very important), you are required to present your ID to an officer when asked.

A broken taillight is a valid reason for a stop. If she is operating a motor vehicle, she has to present her ID. That's literally it. Whether or not a minor traffic infraction is considered a crime or not, is completely, and utterly irrelevant. She's mixing her issues and she will pay the consequences for her ignorance.

Also, what's funny is, a broken taillight is at most a small fine. A lot of officers will let you off with a warning if you're polite and there's no warning that's already been issued. Now she's looking at, failure to obey a lawful order, resisting arrest, obstruction, a broken taillight, and probably more if they really wanted to. The phrase "pick your battles" comes to mind. Also, if you're going to challenge a police officer, you better be damn sure that you are right.

TL:DR - Fair, next. And she will lose her court case if she tries to fight it.
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The first principle is that you must not fool yourself --- and you are the easiest person to fool.