I've always wondered about this with traffic tickets: How can officers have discretion on how to prosecute and still satisfy "equal protection under the law"? Or does equal protection only apply to federal statutes?
[Edit: Thank you to OP for sharing, and my heart goes out for your exp]
"Or does equal protection only apply to federal statutes?"
Actually, the 14th Amendment (where the "equal protection" clause is) applies specifically to the states:
"...nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."[1]
The 14th Amendment is applied to the federal government via a process called "reverse incorporation":
"Whereas incorporation applies the Bill of Rights to the states though the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, in reverse incorporation, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment has been held to apply to the federal government through the Due Process Clause located in the Fifth Amendment."[2]
[Edit: Thank you to OP for sharing, and my heart goes out for your exp]