Jaksha applied to be a firefighter. He passed the written and physical exams given by the Montana Firefighter's Testing Consortium, but was not considered for a job when a position came open because state law required that applicants be younger than 34 years of age.

The state justified the classification on the ground that it protected public safety. Jaksha sued, arguing that the law violated the Montana Equal Protection Clause (EPC). He lost at the trial-court level, and appealed.

Assuming that the appellate court applied the same method of analysis to the state EPC as it would have to the federal EPC, how do you think the appellate court ruled? Why?

Jaksha v. Butte-Silver Bow County, 220 P.3d 1115; 2009 WL 2449608.