When government agencies or other entities are consolidated the merged entity should adopt the most efficient practice rather than the practice of the largest entity prior to the merger.
In the late 1990s, California’s courts were consolidated. Previously, there was a municipal court for misdemeanors and civil matters and a superior court for felonies. Many counties had multiple municipal court districts. San Diego County had a superior court covering the entire county, with the courthouses in the City of San Diego, Chula Vista, El Cajon, and Vista handling four different municipal court districts.
In the early 1990s, I received a traffic ticket in one of the suburbs. I didn’t contest the facts but rather claimed an interpretation that I was in compliance, so I went to the suburban c
