The lawyer also told PAC members she recently filed a Right-to-Know Request for copies of all Morris records at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. “We’ve consistently supported transparency in this case,” Goldfein said.Ĭhovanes said she’ll submit a written request for the resolution shortly. They included a specific police directive regarding courtesy rides, enhanced diversity training for police, and state and federal probes of the Morris homicide. Goldfein said the PAC conducted a thorough review of the Morris case prior to issuing a series of recommendations in 2013. But Goldfein cautioned that it may not be possible for every Morris record in the city’s possession to be publicly accessible due to legal constraints. Goldfein said the commission will review a written request from Chovanes for passage of a resolution. Numerous records relating to the Morris case remain off-limits to the public, including a 50-page Police Internal Affairs investigative file and several witness interviews. The December 2002 homicide remains unsolved. Morris was a trans woman of color found with a fatal head injury shortly after receiving a Center City courtesy ride from police. In August, Mayor Jim Kenney appointed nine new members to the 13-member commission. It has six staffers and an annual budget of about $750,000. The PAC is a city-funded watchdog group that investigates police-misconduct complaints and recommends policy changes when deemed necessary. Chovanes is a member of the Justice for Nizah Committee, which seeks transparency in the 15-year-old case.
Trans attorney Julie Chovanes made the request for the resolution during a PAC public meeting in South Philadelphia on April 16. The city’s Police Advisory Commission this week agreed to consider passing a resolution urging the release of city records relating to the Nizah Morris case.
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