till you run into a cop who "thinks" you may have done something and decides evidence isn't required

That is what court is for.

How does that work again. Cop says you did. Puts together a story. Ninety-nine out of a hundred times you're going to be guilty regardless of what race you are or anything else. The fact you said what you did pretty much tells me you have never been targeted. You can hope that you never will be. Thing is a small percentage of people are and the ones that are can have a very bad day.

You are entitled to a defense. Take it. Even in a traffic court you can argue your case. However let me ask you this? Would you rather make your case in court, or on the street in the [b][u]armed[/u][/b] police officer's face?

You're going to lose in either one. Don't see a difference. This is especially true in small towns with kangaroo courts

Court, you are guaranteed survival. Court, you actually have a chance at winning your case. Court, you can have a trained legal professional represent you. Street, you take your survival in your own hands. Street, you are guaranteed to lose (because the cop cannot back down). Street, you have no trained professional representing you. To answer an earlier accusation, yes I have been targeted. Instead of being confrontational, I was very cooperative, did not move until told, and followed all of the police instructions. I had nothing to hide so I let them search me and my truck. Even when they still did not find anything, I was accused of "smoking pot." I volunteered for a drug test to further show willingness cooperate. Knowing she could not get me on drug charges, she then tried for trespassing on private property. I politely pointed out that the "private property" was owned by the university that I attended and that I was not aware that students could not be at that particular place as it was not marked. After all of that, she let me go, without so much as a warning. It's all in how you respond to the police officers.