The Link Between Public Transit and Justice

In an opinion piece in City & State, Katayun I. Jaffari, chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, argues that public transit is an essential component of a functional justice system, and that drastic cuts to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) budget could have a negative impact on criminal and civil courts.

As SEPTA prepares to cut service by 45 percent, Jaffari notes that 40 percent of jurors in the city’s First Judicial District used SEPTA to get to courts. “Without SEPTA as an option, it would be more difficult for jurors to report, and some may choose not to do so at all, which would dilute the pool of jurors and directly affect the right to a fair and representative jury.” For people who have to travel to court for appearances such as litigants or witnesses, a lack of accessible transit can mean fines or arrest warrants. On the civil court side, parents filing custody petitions often have to travel to various courts or offices to attend hearings.

Jaffari concludes, “Every day, the Philadelphia courts and legal professionals handle cases where lives and livelihoods are literally at stake. Severe cuts to SEPTA will widen the equity gap between litigants with means and those without, and make it harder for those working in the legal profession to effectively serve their clients.”