A rise in court congestion on Oahu and elsewhere in the islands due to growing caseloads as well as procedural holdups and thinly stretched judicial resources — especially affecting domestic violence and driving- under-the-influence cases — is an undisputed problem.

A three-day special report, “Justice Delayed,” by Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporter Rob  Opens in a new tabPerez Opens in a new tab, points to some apparent causes that can and should be addressed by state lawmakers and others in the interest of maintaining a system that administers justice in a manner that’s impartial, efficient and accessible.

Various continuance-related stops-and-starts must remain in place to ensure that due process is afforded all sides. However, it’s clear that congestion could be quickly eased with the hiring of more judges and support staff. For the past five years, the Legislature has rejected requests to fund new positions it authorized — but never funded — a decade ago.

It’s true that all state agencies must contend with some unfunded priority requests due to the limits of state funding. And during this year’s session, the Legislature appropriated more than $5 million to pay for a top Judiciary priority of furniture and equipment for the Hawaii island court complex in Kona that’s scheduled to open next year. (It appropriated $35 million in 2014 to build the complex.) Even so, the need for adequate staffing is at least equally urgent.

The last time the Legislature approved funding for a new judge was in 2012, providing money to hire one of the two Oahu Family Court positions that had been authorized but not funded in the preceding decade. This year’s spurned proposal was for $330,000 to hire a new Oahu Family Court judge and three support staffers. Also repeatedly turned down in recent years: requests to fund a new judge each for Kauai and Maui.

These rejections may be prompted by valid concerns about whether the judicial system’s managing of caseloads rates is satisfactory and whether enough is being done to attract women candidates for judgeship posts. But it’s unfair to expect a bang-up job when denied needed resources. It’s also a sure bet that as the state’s population continues to grow, so will the collective pile of cases. Foot-dragging in the funding of authorized positions can result in public disservice.

In addition to making good on more hires, state lawmakers should continue to probe proposed changes to Hawaii law — including the idea of creating a petty misdemeanor category for abuse of a family or household member as well as allowing deferred pleas in misdemeanor domestic abuse cases.

Both were supported by prosecutors, police, victims, advocates and the state Senate during this year’s session. But Senate Bill 2343 stalled in the House due to constitutional and caseload concerns. The Judiciary worried that the changes could add hundreds of cases to the already jam-packed Family Court docket. Supporters countered that the measure could help lighten congestion.

Under the proposal, a defendant prosecuted for a petty misdemeanor would no longer be entitled to a jury trial, which many alleged abusers now demand because prosecutors have a poor track record when trying such cases. This sort of gaming of the system should be eliminated.

The bill’s supporters suppose that if defendants were limited to a bench trial option before a judge trained in domestic abuse issues, more cases could get resolved more effectively — and at a faster pace. Likewise, allowing deferred pleas (the opportunity to wipe from the record an offense by staying out of legal trouble for a specified time) could help unclog the court docket.

A similar unclogging could occur should Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro rethink the office’s refusal to plea-bargain DUI offenses except in rare cases. The public safety motivation backing the refusal is laudable. However, changes in case law over the past decade regarding use of blood-alcohol tests and other issues have made securing DUI convictions tougher for the prosecution.

That, in turn, has prompted more trials, putting a strain on the courts, with some cases pushed back a month or more because of a lack of judges or courtrooms. Since 2003 the Oahu DUI cases have more than doubled, hitting nearly 4,900 last year.

When cases bump into the so-called Rule 48 deadline, which requires trials to start within six months, they can be dismissed without prejudice, giving prosecutors an opportunity to refile the charges. Or drop the matter. It appears that public safety could be better served with the give-and-take of plea bargaining.

What’s more, crowded dockets are touching off undue disruptions to the lives of victims, defendants, witnesses and others who have to return to court again and again as justice delayed is pursued (and sometimes denied by court congestion). Our residents deserve better. Hawaii can — and should — step up efforts to improve the functioning of its Judiciary branch of government.