The court will decide whether to order the release of the names by noon Tuesday.
NEWARK -- The last-minute request to stop the release of the names of the unindicted co-conspirators in connection to the George Washington Bridge lane closure scheme should be dismissed as too little, too late, a coalition of news organizations said in a federal court filing Friday.
The coalition, including NJ Advance Media, asked U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to toss the request filed late Thursday by one of the unindicted co-conspirators in the Bridgegate case.
Wigenton ruled earlier this week that the public's interest in the case outweighed the privacy considerations of individuals who allegedly knew about the plan to cause massive traffic jams in Fort Lee as political retribution.
Bridgegate lawyers seek more names
She set a deadline of noon Friday for release of the names, but "John Doe," through attorney Jenny Kramer, on Thursday asked for an emergency stay of the deadline and legal anonymity.
Wigenton earlier Friday reset the deadline for noon Tuesday.
U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman, who opposed the news media's bid to publicize the names, did not object to John Doe's request to stay Wigenton's order.
At issue is a list of people who federal prosecutors said had conspired in the politically motivated 2013 lane shutdowns at the George Washington Bridge, or in the subsequent cover-up, but were not charged.
The news media organizations argued Friday that the John Doe brief was "a frivolous and desperate attempt" to re-argue the case that has been before Wigenton since early this year.
The brief, written by attorney Bruce Rosen of McCusker Anselmi Rosen & Carvelli, says the public has a First Amendment right to the names. It also says John Doe's argument that he would be "branded a felon" by publication of the names is meritless.
"An unindicted co-conspirator is -- by definition -- not convicted or even charged with any crime," the news organizations' filing says. "Any individual named as an unindicted co-conspirator (whether a public employee or simply active in public affairs) is likely, as the court says, to be a public employee or official and will have 'ready access' to mass media communication to counter criticism."
Further, the conspirator designation merely signifies a relationship, not necessarily criminal, between the parties for legal purposes, it says.
The news organizations' brief also asks Wigenton to impose sanctions on John Doe for taking legal action at the last minute.
Kramer, meanwhile, filed additional papers Friday in response the the media brief, arguing that John Doe "had no opportunity to rebut the U.S. Attorney's description of him as a conspirator."
She also rejected Rosen's assertion that being named as an "unindicted co-conspirator" did not brand him as a criminal.
"Conspiracy is a crime. The media's suggestion that one who appears on a list of criminals is not branded a criminal--indeed, that being on such a list actually identifies one as not guilty of a crime--is ludicrous," she said.
According to Rosen, Kramer intends to appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals if Wigenton orders the release of the names.
The U.S. Attorney's office last year brought indictments against two former associates of Gov. Chris Christie, charging that they used the bridge as a vehicle for political retribution with the intent to cause massive traffic tie-ups in Fort Lee after the Democratic mayor there declined to endorse Christie for re-election.
But in court documents filed in preparation for the trial of William Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Bridget Anne Kelly, the governor's former deputy chief of staff, defense attorneys learned there was a list of other individuals who were tied to the conspiracy, but were not charged in the case.
Media organizations, including NJ Advance Media, went to court seeking the disclosure of those names, identified only as public employees and elected or public officials.
Staff writer Ted Sherman contributed to this report.
Tim Darragh may be reached at tdarragh@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @timdarragh. Find NJ.com on Facebook.