Earlier quoted context omitted.
“One simple trick” wasn’t a thing back in the timeframe of this story. No gold-fringed flags, no sovcits, no “technically I didn’t lie”.
I l mean, even without invoking sovereign citizen craziness, it’s pretty easy to imagine a legitimate lawyer arguing the difference between “fake id ” as in an identity document fraudulently attempting to look like a legitimately issued document, and “made up” as in bearing no more than a superficial resemblance to other legitimate identity documents. Now obviously the self confessed train of thought of him deliberat…
In the event it got to court, any sane lawyer would advocate for a yes it was wrong, but there was no ill intent defense. Trying to split hairs about the difference between a “fake id” and merely a made-up ID would just be digging deeper into the hole.
When you’re pulled over for 70 in a 60, you own it, acknowledge the mistake, and hope that recognizance is enougn to get you off. You don’t create elaborate sophistries to “prove” that 70 is actually the same thing as 60, or that the signs that say 60 really mean 70. Nobody buys that kind of thing.