My question involves traffic court in the State of: California (San Diego County)

I was recently pulled over in north San Diego county. I was coming off an exit in Solana Beach, CA off Interstate 5. I knew the highway patrolman was behind me so I obeyed all traffic laws. He put his lights on and I was wondering what he could've pulled me over for. After pulling me over, the policeman comes to my passenger side window and asks if my car is registered. I say yes. He asks for license registration and insurance. I have a valid license, registration and insurance from the state of NJ. He asked how long I've been here for (also where do I work, what's my job..etc). I asked him politely why he pulled me over, and he stated because I do not an expiration sticker on my license plate.

My first question is - Is it legal to pull me over for not having an expiration sticker on my license plate when a car registered in NJ only has an inspection sticker on the windshield, not on the plate. If this is the case, police officers in California can pull over any vehicle that doesn't have california plates basically. He kept asking me when I moved to California. I stated I moved last December from NJ, for a one year contract position as a DOD contractor and thought I did not have to change over my license/registration because of that. Before this, he threateningly asked what's in my glove compartment because he saw a stack of papers in it when I reached for my insurance. He then reached into the car and grabbed the first paper which was a Jiffy Lube receipt with my SD address from last year, so he can prove I was a resident for that long. Again, is this a legal maneuver to grab something from my car without asking?

I was cited with 4000(a)(VC) not a valid CA registration, and also 12951(a)(VC) not having a valid CA license, both correctable. The thing is, my year contract is almost up and I will be moving back to NJ within 2 months, so it seems like it will be a waste of time and money to go through the process of registering the car and such, and then register it back when I go back to NJ. My mom in NJ also is the title holder and registered owner.

I went into court to get the ticket processed, and I have to appear before the judge for arraignment this week. Do you think I have any case for pleading not guilty and doing a TBWD? Besides the officer's actions, I would also show evidence I am leaving. I doubt the judge will care though. If I do plead not guilty, can you speak with a DA right away to negotiate, or do you just wait for your future trial? If I plead guilty without correcting the violations (which I will do) does anyone have an estimate of how much the fines will be for the two violations? I've read they could total to around 500 dollars. Anyone have any direction of where I should go with this matter? Thanks.