The state's budgetary crisis is hitting every branch of government, and the Judiciary is no exception. From that standpoint, a suggestion by state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa and Chief Justice Ronald Moon seems logical: Postpone filling the vacant post of chief judge for the Intermediate Court of Appeals, and save some money for the short term.

But there's a right way to do that, and it's not as Hanabusa and Moon propose — asking the Judicial Selection Commission to delay submitting names of possible replacement judges.

Hanabusa, a Democrat, has characterized the plan as strictly a temporary, cost-saving measure, meant to lop about $486,000 from the budget, rather than to deprive the Republican governor of an appointment.

Nonetheless, the commission has a constitutional duty to help the governor to appoint enough judges to handle the court's caseload. Winnowing the roster of the Judiciary is a substantial change that should be made with deliberation, not by simply directing the selection panel to cool its heels.

Attorney General Mark Bennett makes a good case for another approach. Rather than asking the panel to put off doing its job, Bennett says, the Legislature could pass legislation that temporarily reduces the number of judges on the appellate court. That bill would get a full debate over the reduction and the inevitable backlog of cases it would cause.

It's a less casual, but more appropriate, way to address the issue.