Matthews v. City of AtLantic City

By manufacturing a “three-tier” analysis of equal protection claims the Court has created a veil of tiers which shrouds this essential issue: whether the two-year residency requirement for municipal office here is reasonably related to legitimate government objectives. I would hold that it is.

The provision under attack is found in N.J.S.A. 40:72-1, part of the Walsh Act, which sets forth the commission form of government. It requires that “[e]ach member [of the municipal governing body] shall have been a citizen and resident of the municipality for at least two years immediately preceding his…