Town of Oxford v. Koste

Which comes first: a law’s enactment or a referendum drive? In this case, we consider the classic chicken/egg causality riddle in the legislative/political setting. 1 And, in the context of the petitioning to referendum of a municipal annexation resolution, we conclude that the Legislature has required enactment to precede petitioning. 2 We turn from the abstract to the concrete.

On December 3, 2010, the Circuit Court for Talbot County granted summary judgment in favor of appellee Constantine Koste (“Koste”), a resident and registered voter of the Town of Oxford (“the Town”), appellant. In so…