AT RISK: JUSTICE IN FLORIDA

On Tuesday, we editorialized about how the Legislature wants to march
Florida off a cliff when it comes to health care. Today, the subject
is the court system, but the destination is the same.

Unwilling to consider any idea for new revenue or any alternative that
might prevent the calamity ahead, legislators are debating budget cuts
that would make Floridians less safe and throw sand in the gears of
the justice system. The House and Senate have different budget
numbers, but all of them are lousy.

For starters, the state could lose one-third of all probation
officers. Just last year, Gov. Crist's priority was his so-called
"Anti-Murder Bill," under which many more people who violate probation
could be jailed until a judge decides their fate. With fewer officers
checking, it would be much harder to keep track of the roughly 150,000
people who are under some form of supervision.

Prosecutors also face reductions. Palm Beach County State Attorney
Barry Krischer already has dissolved many specialty units that
focused, among other things, on crimes against children. The cuts
could force Mr. Krischer to lay off 12 prosecutors, or about 12
percent of those now working. It's a good bet that the bad guys
haven't agreed to commit 12 percent fewer crimes.

The Legislature's answer for now is to balance those cuts with money
from higher costs of prosecution. But the amount is uncertain, and it
would take months for the money to start flowing. A spokesman for Mr.
Krischer says the Legislature is trying to work out that "bridge." Of
course, Mr. Krischer had been using part of that money for the
enlightened purpose of treating nonviolent drug offenders. Without
that money, untreated addicts will commit crimes to support their habit.

The House ($26 million) and Senate ($20 million) are debating cuts
that would force court administrators to lay off between 400 and 600
people statewide. If that happens, Floridians with landlord-tenant or
divorce issues would have to wait months for a resolution, if it came.
The courts' priorities would be major crimes and major litigation.

No, it doesn't make sense for the legislative branch to cripple the
judicial branch. But the Legislature probably calculates that the pain
from these cuts won't be felt until after the November election, so
Tallahassee can deal with the damage next year. A responsible
Legislature would prevent the damage.