Sidestepping what could have been a major ruling about the state’s public-records laws, an appeals court on Wednesday upheld a judge’s decision that shielded Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration from releasing records. The appeal stemmed from a public-records request, filed by a person identified in court documents as J. Doe, seeking information from DeSantis’ office about influential conservatives involved in discussions about appointing Florida Supreme Court justices. In a subsequent lawsuit, Leon County Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey rejected the public-records request on a series of grounds, in…