If you're local and have the chance to save a couple hundred bucks it can be worth it.

When I lived in a big city I successfully protested tickets when the cop either didn't show up or told the prosecutor they didn't remember the circumstances so they dropped the case.

If your plan is to give the court an elaborate critique of police procedures or somehow make society better by righteously standing up for yourself, that sounds like a waste of time. They are churning through dozens of cases and don't want to hear it.