A judge can absolutely reduce a fine at their discretion, the judge blatantly refusing to use his discretion and human judgement in favor of a black and white view of the law is why he could easily be replaced with a machine.
Re:Top lawyers beaten by legal AI
by gamblor956 on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @03:31PM
(#18340492)
No, a judge cannot "absolutely" reduce a fine for an administrative violation or infraction at their discretion. It depends on the jurisdiction. With some rulebreaking, the punishment is all-or-nothing.
If you had wanted to challenge the validity of the ticket and the judge said he didn't care about the facts, that would have been a different thing altogether.