Foley, is an alien eligible to become a naturalized citizen, who is lawfully in this country as a permanent resident. He applied for appointment as a New York State trooper. State authorities refused to allow Foley to take the examination. P then brought this action seeking a declaratory judgment that the State's exclusion of aliens from its police force violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. After P was certified as representative of a class of those similarly situated, a three-judge District Court was convened to consider the merits of the claim.