The wheels of justice may turn slowly, but they do turn. This could change under a proposal under consideration by Maine’s court system.

Officials are contemplating a moratorium on criminal trials to save money. The judicial budget is spent through June; delaying proceedings could save the system from a projected deficit of $700,000.

They also call it the “worst case scenario,” which is how it should stay. If the judicial system needs $700,000 to continue operating, this funding should come from the state’s rainy day fund, rather than the problematic moratorium.

Criminal trials are a core government function, with the right to a speedy one a cherished tenet of the U.S. Constitution. In Maine’s budget crisis, such duties should be protected until the fifty-ninth minute of the eleventh hour.

Delaying or postponing trials would invite legal challenges from defendants, who would argue their constitutional right to a speedy trial is jeopardized by the shutdown. There are also concerns about access to legal counsel, if court appointed attorney payments are cut.

If trials or other proceedings are stalled, a new problem also arises of warehousing pre-trial inmates.

Corrections costs have already prompted the essential state takeover of county jails – stopping trials could stress an overburdened system. Something would have to be done with inmates if their cases are not adjudicated; whatever the eventual solution, it would be taxpayer-funded.

Then there’s the fact that postponing trials into the next fiscal year is a cost push, not a cost cut. There’s danger, in this environment of gloomy revenue forecasts, of promising to fund tomorrow what should be funded today.

This is a warning worth attaching to any budget-cutting proposal that anticipates using anticipated funding to pay current debt. Given bleak budget pictures in state governments across the country – and the looming shadow of the R-word, recession – future funding is best considered an uncertainty.

Other states have closed courts for extended durations and escaped serious constitutional or legal consequences, but other states have also realized – wisely so, in our estimation – the potential headaches from court closures are not worth the short-term budget savings.

Florida lawmakers, for example, are using one-time funds to keep courtrooms humming. In the Sunshine State’s case, however, capital projects and other non-recurring expenses are being shifted to maintain judicial operations.

Maine’s judicial budget doesn’t require a solution nearly as desperate.

With a rainy day fund of more than $100 million, appropriating $700,000 to keep criminal courts moving is a wiser investment than inviting the troubles of a moratorium. A bailout is not the answer for every department’s budget problems, however – most departments will not escape cuts this year.

Most state departments, however, do not have their basic obligations rooted in the founding document dictating the fundamental rights of every American.

There isn’t a better reason to keep Maine’s courts open.