So I'm out a few weeks ago on a Saturday night with some friends - I've had maybe 6 beers over the span of 2 1/2 hours - I'm over the limit and I realize it - I switch to water for an hour and then WALK over to silver diner, pick up a burger, and walk back over to my car. Its been at least 2 hrs and I figure I'm more than fine to drive home. Last turn before my house is a coming off of a 45mph road with a deceleration lane to make a right turn onto a 35 - a good corner and I take it in a "spirited" fashion. I'm NOT out of control, I'm not skidding - but, yeah, there's some noise out of the exhaust due to the downshift... So I'm on the 35 mph road and have maybe 60/70 yards to the development and I'm accelerating. I'm going to guess I was doing 50 MAYBE 55. Wham - blue lights go off in the opposite direction and the cop u-ies and gets right on me... He's right to have pulled me over - its 1:30 am on a Saturday night, and I fit the profile. If I were in his shoes I would have done the same. Here's where it gets interesting - pulls me out and has me do a field sobriety - I nail it. First Event: Eyes Shut, Head at 45 degree angle - touch nose, alternating fingers "left", "right", "left", "right", "right", "Left", etc. - Nailed it - Judges raise appropriate combination of 9 and 10 signs. Next event: Count to 41 in odds and skip some number - I'm freaking out - I don't know if I could do WITHOUT being loaded... Nailed it - perfect score, air kisses to judges... Final event: The one-legged stance with counting to 30 (in x+"one-thousands") - mediocre performance had to hop a number of times. Overall dudes, I'm obviously ok to drive. Then he pulls out the breathilizer - I blow perfectly and he starts looking at it.... Hes got some sort of reading, but I'm still waiting - then he shows it to me and it reads ".088"... The limit in VA is .08 - this is it - I figure I'm in deep **** - but I can't shake the feeling that based on acing the field test - he'll let me off. He - of course - asks about the european plate, and I explain the bolt is stripped and I can't get it off - I actually whip out the screw driver and show him how the screw just keeps spinning and while I'm doing this he says "you know this is all for not, right?" - I nod, but show him the VA plate that I have in my glove compartment.

Then he starts power tripping: "You're getting thrown in jail and having your car impounded all for what? A meal from silver diner?" - "Do you know what the speed limit is on that road?" - "35?" I guess... "Try 30." (its not - its a 35) "and how fast you were going?" "50/55" "Try 64".... At this point I figure I'm f'ed - thats it, game over man... I'm going to jail... Oh well. Makes me sit in the car - and I put on the "disgraced and ashamed yuppie" performance that should have gotten me a Academy Award.. Thirty minutes later he comes back over and he says "OK - I'm going to do you a hellacious (is that a word?) favor..." That wave of relief washes over me - "Thank you sir, I'm sorry sir (and I was - he had every reason to pull me over) - then hands me a ticket for 64/30 Reckless Driving (imho - no way I was going that fast - nor do I believe for an instant that he had any form of radar or laser that detected me) with a mandatory court appearance and a ticket for failure to display VA plates (well deserved). He mumbles something about taking a picture of my VA plate in my rear window and sending it in - but at this point I just want to go home. It was the best burger ever - it tasted like freedom... So hear is where I need help: I'm going to hire a lawyer, any thoughts on defenses? Could the fact that he improperly sited me (30 when it was actually a 35 zone) have any impact?