That is BS. You are focusing on the end result after you were popped by the warden, instead of analyzing why it happened in the first place. You were not being a law abiding citizen. You knew before you entered the woods that your friend was without a proper license, yet you took him anyway, so you are just as guilty as him. If you two were good friends, he wouldn't have put you in that spot, and you also could have told him that you weren't taking him hunting with someone elses tag. A good friend would understand that. Instead, you played the odds, got busted and now you are trying to figure out how to have the fine reduced. Just pay up and shut up and move on. You were wrong.