# In Re Referendum on City of Trenton Ordinance 09-02

> Supreme Court of New Jersey · April 6, 2010 · 201 N.J. 349

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9638194

## Case

- **Full name:** In Re Petition for Referendum on City of Trenton Ordinance 09-02
- **Court:** Supreme Court of New Jersey
- **Decided:** April 6, 2010
- **Citations:** 201 N.J. 349; 990 A.2d 1109; 2010 N.J. LEXIS 380
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Dissent by Rabner
- **Judges:** Referendum, City, Ordinance, Rabner
- **Cited by:** 58 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9638194

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- stating that referendum power “is an exercise in democracy that profoundly affects the relationship between the citizens and their government by afford *481 ing the people the last word if they choose to take a stand against the wisdom of an ordinance that the government has e…
- holding that “we owe no deference to the trial court’s legal conclusions” (citing Manalapan Realty Realty v. Twp. Comm. of Manalapan, 140 N.J. 366, 378, 658 A.2d 1230 (1995))
- noting that Court must read statute’s sections “‘to provide a harmonious whole’” (quoting Burnett v. Cnty. of Bergen, 198 N.J. 408, 421 (2009)). The plain language of N.J.S.A. 2C:52-2(a
- stating that when reviewing two separate statutes addressing the same subject matter, courts must read the statutes in pari materia and attempt to reconcile them
- noting that Court must read statute’s sections “ ‘to provide a harmonious whole’ ” (quoting Burnett v. Cnty. of Bergen, 198 N.J. 408, 421, 968 A.2d 1151 (2009))

## Opinion text

Chief Justice RABNER,
dissenting.
I would affirm the judgment of the Appellate Division substantially for the reasons expressed in Judge Carchman’s thoughtful opinion. In re Petition for Referendum on Trenton Ordinance 09-02, 411 N.J.Super. 135 , 984 A.2d 895 (App.Div.2009).
For reversal—Justices LONG, LaVECCHIA, ALBIN, WALLACE and HOENS—5.
For affirmance—Chief Justice RABNER—1.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9638194. Public record. Not legal advice.