PHILADELPHIA--The identity of John Doe will remain a secret.

A federal appellate court today rejected efforts by a consortium of news organizations to force prosecutors to disclose a list of so-called "unindicted co-conspirators" allegedly tied to the Bridgegate scandal.

"Information wants to be free, is in some quarters a popular slogan, but there are dangers to the administration of justice in too freely granting access to information of the sort at issue here," the court said.

"Public access to judicial documents and court proceedings is a respected tradition and important legal principle, but it has bounds,' the court wrote in its ruling. Theh panel added that "the time may come, perhaps at trial," when the list of unindicted coconspirators could be made public, "but that time is not here yet."

One of those on the list, identified in court documents only as John Doe, had sought to keep his name confidential, arguing that its release would "brand him as a criminal" without due process of law.

The ruling comes just weeks before the scheduled trial of William Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Bridget Anne Kelly, former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Chris Christie. The two are charged with conspiring to shut down several local toll lanes at the George Washington Bridge in September 2013 in an act of political retribution aimed at causing massive traffic jams in Fort Lee--after Democratic Mayor Mark Sokolich declined to endorse Christie, a Republican, for re-election.

The two face nine counts that they misused Port Authority resources, as well as violating the public's right to be allowed to travel freely.

Another former Port Authority official, David Wildstein, pleaded guilty and is expected to testify for the government.

At issue was before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia was a list of people believed by prosecutors to have conspired in the lane shutdowns at the bridge, or in the subsequent cover-up, but were never charged. The existence of that list first came to light as part of court filings that were made in preparation for the upcoming trial of Baroni and Kelly. But while the names of those individuals were provided under seal to defense attorneys in the case, they were kept secret from the public.

A consortium of news organizations--including NJ Advance Media--subsequently filed suit to force the U.S. Attorney's office to reveal the names, arguing that the public's First Amendment rights trumped an individual's privacy rights.

"We are of course disappointed with the Third Circuit's decision," said attorney Bruce S. Rosen of McCusker, Anselmi, Rosen & Carvelli, who was the lead attorney for the media consortium that appealed the case. "We continue to believe that the public is entitled to the list of unindicted coconspirators under the First Amendment."

U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman had fought the bid, saying the U.S. Attorney's Manual states that "federal prosecutors should remain sensitive to the privacy and reputation interests of uncharged third parties." In May, however, U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton in Newark--who will preside over the trial of Baroni and Kelly--agreed that the public had a right to know the names, and ordered the list be released.

"There is very little that is private about the lane closures or the lives of the people allegedly connected to them," said Wigenton in her decision. "Further, individuals thus far identified as being involved in the lane closings have been public employees and/or elected and appointed officials."

But an attorney for one of them those on the list, identified only as John Doe, appealed the decision, and the Third Circuit temporarily blocked Wigenton's order. The attorney, former federal prosecutors Jenny Kramer, argued that publicizing the names would violate the individuals' right to due process by branding them as criminals "without any compelling governmental justification."

In a hearing in June, the appellate court seemed focused on one fine legal point: Was the list of unindicted co-conspirators a public "bill of particulars" or private pretrial sharing of evidence? In other words, did the information serve to supplement the public indictment, or was it discovery material provided in the course of trial preparation?

Meanwhile, preparations for the trial have continued, with a series of conferences on questions for potential jurors and other issues.

Jury selection is scheduled is to begin on Sept. 12.

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.