The judge who dismissed the Fraternal Order of Police's lawsuit against the Philadelphia District Attorney over his office's so-called "do not call" list of unreliable police-officer witnesses said she dismissed the case because the due process clause of the 14th Amendment and the duty of prosecutors to turn over any exculpatory evidence trumped any of the FOP's claims.

Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Paula Patrick recently issued her opinion in Fraternal Order of Police v. City of Philadelphia, detailing the reasoning for a decision she made in August to dismiss the FOP's lawsuit against Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. The opinion, which was filed with the court Nov. 18, asks the state Superior Court to affirm her decision to grant the defendants preliminary objections in the case.

The case stemmed from notifications the District Attorney's Office sent out telling police officers who had faced misconduct charges that they would need to disclose the potentially impeachable misconduct to the defense. The FOP had argued that the notifications and disclosures would violate their due process rights and could affect their job assignments and pay, but Patrick said the law is clear that prosecutors have a duty to turn over this information.

"Federal as well as Pennsylvania caselaw is clear that the obligation to disclose exculpatory evidence of an impeachment nature is a key priority of the criminal justice system as well as the rules of professional conduct," Patrick said. "It is in that vein that D.A. Krasner has the inherent discretion to determine if, as in this case, police officer misconduct should be noted as potentially exculpatory impeachment evidence. Indeed, evidence of prior misconduct that could lead to the impeachment of key prosecution witnesses, including police officers, falls within the materiality standard."

Read Patrick's full decision below: