What is the test for determining whether two groups are similarly situated for the purposes of the law in question?

If two groups are found to be similarly situated for the purposes of the law in question, the next inquiry is whether the state can justify the disparate treatment. (People v. Buffington (1999) 74 Cal.App.4th 1149, 1155, 88 Cal.Rptr.2d 696.) One of two tests applies in a given case: either the rational basis test or the strict scrutiny test. The rational basis test applies when the statute involves neither a suspect class nor a fundamental right. That test requires only that there is any reasonably conceivable state of

[203 Cal.Rptr.3d 344]