So I got written a ticket for "Open Burning of Solid Waste. Back story is, I was burning a bunch of trees and an old chicken coupe that had been on the property and collapsed for like 10 years. There were a couple tires in the pile, which I was unaware of. Someone called the fire chief. After he came and we talked for awhile, the DNR showed up. The guy didn't want to hear anything I said, went straight to writing a ticket. Stated it was a civil infraction, and that since I had no priors it would just be a fine, but if it went to court he probably wouldn't show up. He was straight up a jerk, which is whatever. But when I called the court they said it was a $302 fine and a misdemeanor. The fact I have NO priors for anything, this seemed like a bit over the top, so I decided to plead not guilty and try to plead me case to at least get the misdemeanor dropped. I just received the summons to appear in court, and it seems they upped the fine from the original to the max penalty of $1000. My question is, since I have no priors is it worth waiting for the court date to try and get it dropped or am I fighting a lost cause since it's his word against mine and the law sides on the side of officers.