Disparate-racial-impact showings can be defeated by comparing alternative routes’ impacts

Evidence

In the Cleveland case, although the community group Concerned Citizens Against I-670 demonstrated that the routing of the proposed I-670 freeway would be through neighborhoods that ranged from 50 to 90 percent African American—according to the Court a “prima facie showing of disparate effect upon racial minorities”—the defendant was able to overcome that hurdle by showing that alternative routes would have had a greater negative impact on African American neighborhoods. … The Court explained that “it is plain from the record that construction of I-670 would have substantially less impact upon racial minorities than would the construction of a freeway along 17th Avenue, the major alternative location for a freeway.” — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up, 1127

Categorization

• XREF: Buttresses the book’s core critique (chapters 7 and 8) that the legal intent/effect framework lets defendants rebut prima facie disparate impact with comparative claims, a mechanism that crosses from equal protection into Title VI and VIII litigation. — connects to: Contradictory siting studies differed mainly over geographic unit and comparison scope — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up: Environmental…, 300; Establishing disparate impact requires comparing affected groups rather than proving individual disadvantage — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 235

Broader Connections

• Establishing disparate impact requires comparing affected groups rather than proving individual disadvantage #contradicts (0.75) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 235