Don't you just love living in a nanny state? On a divided highway it can be much safer to cross mid-block than at an intersection, where cars are coming from all directions and drivers are turning right while looking only to the left, etc. The punishment should fit the crime, and $185 is way out of line. What do they charge for rolling through a stop sign or driving 5mph over the posted limit?

Under the uniform vehicle code, which most states adopt or adapt, crossing mid-block is illegal only if the nearest intersection in each direction is controlled by a traffic signal or all-way stop sign. If there is a nearby shopping center with a "public approach," that may count as an uncontrolled intersection, making your ticket null and void.