You will not find a legal theory that’s done more damage to this country in the last half century than the idea of “disparate impact.” Whether you realize it or not, this is a legal concept that has almost certainly impacted your life at some point, along with the lives of millions of other people. In short, disparate impact allows people to sue whenever a policy — whether it’s a government policy, or the policy of a private business — has a disproportionate effect on certain demographics. It doesn’t matter if the policy is intended to be discriminatory. It doesn’t matter if the policy is completely neutral, on its face. All that matters is whether the policy affects some demographics more than others.
To give just one example: If a written test for a police academy contains basic math questions — questions which are not racist in any way — the test is still…
