Arraigned And Put On Bond Because I Forgot My Wallet At Home

I got pulled over for speeding on my way to work. This was my first time ever being pulled over in 10 years of driving with a previously perfect record. When the officer asked for my ID, I went into my bag to grab it, but I didn’t feel it or see it. I use that bag every day and my wallet is always in it, but that morning, I had done a clean out, dumped everything out and then put everything back in. I explained that to the officer and told him I must have forgotten to put my wallet back in my bag. He walked back to his vehicle and I sat there nervously and decided to check my bag again, only this time I found my wallet, with my ID in it, all the way at the bottom where it blended in with the lining of the bag. I showed my license to the officer when he came back but at that point he had already written the ticket. He gave me a warning for the speeding but said driving without a license is a misdemeanor. He checked the misdemeanor box on the ticket but also checked the “Waive” box under it and told me he’s giving me a warning for all of it and I would be fine as long as I called the court within 14 days and provided proof of a valid driver’s license. Well I did exactly that and when I called the court, they told me they couldn’t waive a ticket on their end and that I would have to attend arraignment on zoom. At that point I had no choice but to just show up, thinking everything would be dismissed at the arraignment and go no further. Surely the municipal legal system has better things to use their resources on, right? WRONG. The Magistrate told me and my state appointed attorney that he would have to contact the prosecutor himself to try to get it dismissed, but in the meantime, an upcoming pre-trial date is set, I have a $500 personal bond, and I’m restricted from leaving the state. Not only do I travel for work, I’m also expected to keep a clean driving record. My legal defense strongly advised me to not worry about the pretrial and that everything will be dropped. I feel very anxious though and I’m not sure if I can trust what he says. Should I look into hiring my own attorney?

Location: Michigan

TL;DR: I’ve been dealing with 2 months of court dates, missing work, banned from travel, put on bond, and severely anxious and depressed all because I forgot my driver’s license at home on my way to work.