wanker

In California any aftermarket tint on the front driver and passenger side windows is illegal. Period. Furthermore, any vehicle code violation is sufficient grounds for a police officer to stop you, no matter how trivial. Thus, you're welcome to fight the ticket in court and lose.

FWIW, window tint violations are rather cheap (typically a fix it ticket). So many people simply remove their tint, get the removal signed off at the local police station, and then reinstall it. In fact, in my neck of the woods one of the most popular window tint places in literal right up the street from a Sheriff substation for this very reason.