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Two former top aides to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie dont have to give documents about the George Washington Bridge lane closings to state lawmakers, a judge ruled, setting back the legislatures probe into who ordered the traffic tie-ups and why.

Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson said yesterday that forcing Bridget Anne Kelly, an ex-deputy chief of staff, and William Stepien, a former Christie campaign manager, to turn over e-mails and other papers subpoenaed by a legislative committee would violate their constitutional rights against self-incrimination. If lawmakers want the documents as they probe who snarled traffic in Fort Lee, New Jersey, they can give the pair immunity, she said.

If the committee chooses this route, Mr. Stepien and Ms. Kelly would have to comply with the subpoenas in their entirety to avoid being held in contempt, Jacobson said in a 98-page opinion issued in Trenton.

The committees probe, led by attorney Reid Schar, is in a critical phase. Schar claimed Kelly and Stepien are key to answering questions about the lane closures. Jacobson ruled that the committee failed to show that it was engaged in more than a fishing expedition when the subpoenas were issued in January.

Kevin Marino, Stepiens attorney, applauded the dismissal of a frivolous lawsuit to enforce a clearly invalid subpoena.

An investigation commissioned by Christie concluded on March 27 that he had no advance knowledge of a plot to close the lanes by Kelly and David Wildstein, then a Christie ally at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the bridge. They sought to punish the mayor of Fort Lee for unknown political reasons through tie-ups from Sept. 9 to Sept. 12, according to the report by the law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP and its lead attorney, Randy Mastro.

The scandal has damaged Christies popularity as he weighs a Republican run for the White House in 2016.

The opinion, like Mastros report, represents a complete vindication of Bill Stepien, Marino said in a statement. In its zeal to achieve a blatantly political goal having nothing to do with Mr. Stepien, the committee disregarded the fundamental constitutional right of this innocent man.

Michael Critchley, Kellys attorney, said the decision provides a free tutorial on the protections the Fifth Amendment affords all citizens. In a statement, he said the thorough and well-reasoned opinion is a complete rejection of the committees attempt to strip Ms. Kelly of her constitutional rights.

In persuading the judge to dismiss a pair of committee lawsuits seeking to enforce the subpoenas, Kelly and Stepien said they feared a criminal prosecution by U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, who is investigating the events at the bridge.

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Ex-Christie Aides Win Fifth Amendment Argument on Subpoenas