Council member Isaiah Thomas speaks during a press conference discussing his "driving equality" legislation in 2023. Read more Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
by Abraham Gutman Published Sept. 30, 2025, 3:03 p.m. ET
A divided panel of Pennsylvania appellate judges ruled that Philadelphia has the authority to limit the enforcement of eight traffic violations, a policy city officials call “driving equality.”
The Commonwealth Court affirmed a Philadelphia Common Pleas judge’s decision to toss out a lawsuit brought by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, which challenged legislation passed by City Council in 2021 and a subsequent executive order by then-Mayor Jim Kenney.
Writing for the four-judge majority , Chief Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer said Philadelphia can choos