# Newark Superior Officers Ass'n v. City of Newark

> Supreme Court of New Jersey · January 14, 1985 · 98 N.J. 212

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9736210

## Case

- **Full name:** Newark Superior Officers Association, a Fraternal Organization Incorporated Under the Laws of the State of New Jersey and William Geraghty, Thomas Henry, Thomas Martin, Thomas Critchley, William Kodman, Irving Moore, Arnold Evans, Martin Reichenbecker, Christian Volz, George Hammer and Kenneth Melchoir, Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. the City of Newark, a Municipal Corporation of the State of New Jersey, Kenneth Gibson, Individually and in His Capacity as Mayor of the City of Newark, Hubert Williams, Individually and in His Capacity as Police Director of the City of Newark and the Municipal Council of the City of Newark, Defendants-Appellants, and State of New Jersey, Department of Civil Service; Howard Woodson, Individually and in His Capacity as Chairman of the Civil Service Commission of the State of New Jersey; And Joseph M. Ryan, Individually and in His Capacity as Acting Chief Examiner and Secretary of the Department of Civil Service, Defendants
- **Court:** Supreme Court of New Jersey
- **Decided:** January 14, 1985
- **Citations:** 98 N.J. 212; 486 A.2d 305; 1985 N.J. LEXIS 2215
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by O'Hern
- **Judges:** Garibaldi, O'Hern
- **Cited by:** 76 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/9736210

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- reasoning that the substantially greater population and size of the police forces in Newark and Jersey City, compared to New Jersey's other large cities, was sufficient to distinguish those two cities from all others under the second prong of the special legislation analysis
- stating that under New Jersey rational-basis review, challenged classification must be upheld if court “can conceive of any reason to justify the classification”
- finding grandfather clause in state statute permitting certain city mayors to appoint their police chiefs severable

## Opinion text

O’HERN, J.,
concurring.
I concur in the Court’s opinion with the exception of Part V. I disagree that the Court is required to hold A. 1981, c. 465 to be unconstitutional. I do not read the majority's judgment of the constitutionality of the classification to be based solely on population. The opinion recognizes that it is the combination of “diverse populations and volatile situations” reflected in a “history of tension of social problems” that goes into the legislative *235 judgment. Ante at p. 228. Not every municipality that grows in population may exhibit the same characteristics. It will be time enough to judge whether such a municipality must be included in the class when we have the case. There is, thus far, no such case before us. The Legislature should have the chance to reflect upon automatic membership in the class before we pass judgment.
O’HERN, J., concurring in the result.
For reversal — Chief Justice WILENTZ, and Justices CLIFFORD, SCHREIBER, HANDLER, POLLOCK, O’HERN and GARIBALDI — 7.
Affirmed — None.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9736210. Public record. Not legal advice.