State courts across the country have been coping over the past year with budget cuts that have caused American justice to take longer than that for which it is famous. Hawaii's court system is unnecessarily being hampered by cuts that have actually increased taxpayer expenses in the executive branch. Changes are needed to eliminate what outgoing Chief Justice Ronald T.Y. Moon has recognized as a wasteful domino effect of the budget-cutting system.

Most court systems began feeling the effects of the recession last July 1, the beginning of the current fiscal year. While the struggling economy increased foreclosures, civil claims and contract disputes, court systems faced reduced resources to handle the influx of activity.

Last November, Hawaii's Judiciary, which accounts for only 2.6 percent of the state's budget, began imposing two-days-a-month furloughs across the board, resulting in courts being shuttered two days a month. Despite the fewer days to handle increased caseloads, the Judiciary and state public defenders have complied with U.S. constitutional guarantees of speedy trials and competent legal counsel.

In last week's State of the Judiciary address to the Legislature, Moon told how the furloughs have resulted in a setback from 160 to 130 defendants allowed to be free while subjected to treatment by Oahu's Adults Drug Court. The entire yearly amount to run the Drug Court is $877,000, Moon explained, while the executive branch's expense to keep 30 defendants behind bars comes to $6 million.

A similar penny-wise, pound-foolish scenario is causing a setback for Circuit Judge Steven Alm's nationally heralded Hawaii Opportunity Probation and Enforcement program. Under HOPE, which Alm started in 2004, probationers are given short notice of drug tests and incarcerated for a short time if they fail. They quickly learn to be drug-free to remain free. It has been a model for recent programs in other states.

Moon told legislators that it costs $1.82 per day to supervise a HOPE probationer compared with $139 a day to incarcerate the same offender.

“;Additionally, as with our Drug Court graduates,”; he said, “;HOPE probationers remain in our community as productive and meaningful contributors to society.”;

Obviously, such a successful program should not be pinched by bureaucratic rigidity.

The reduced court days have slowed delivery of justice in ways that ultimately will cost taxpayers more. However, the overall domino effect is more difficult to pinpoint than the clear and immediate effects of limiting the work of the Drug Court and HOPE.

Legislators should not allow furloughs to trim such worthwhile programs that save taxpayers money at the same time.