A strong, impartial, and well-managed court system is the bedrock of a healthy democracy. The court system plays an essential role in keeping our communities safe, allowing our economy to thrive, and preserving our freedoms. We have such a court system in Minnesota, and every Minnesotan has a stake in ensuring that this continues to be true.

Our state courts process more than 1 million cases every year. Minnesotans come to our courts to seek justice, protect their rights, safeguard their property and resolve their disputes. Our courts are also called on to decide matters that arise out of the legislative and executive branches, such as election cases, disputes over legislative redistricting maps, litigation during government shutdowns, and challenges over the constitutionality of state laws.

Everyone benefits from a high-functioning court system, and everyone shares in the consequences when cracks start to form in the foundation. Just a decade ago, Minnesota felt those consequences. After years of budget cuts and freezes, our courts became severely backlogged. Public-service windows at our courthouses closed. We even saw convictions in criminal cases overturned because it took too long to get these cases through the system.

During the past several years, Minnesota has reinvested in its justice system, thanks to bipartisan support from the Legislature and leadership from Gov. Mark Dayton. Case backlogs have diminished, public-service windows have reopened, and we have more public defenders and legal aid lawyers serving the public.

Stabilized funding has allowed our courts to improve how we serve the public, from offering new services to assist those who cannot afford an attorney ("Minnesota courts work to keep up with do-it-yourself demand," April 4), to the implementation of electronic filing and the expansion of treatment courts that seek to provide better outcomes for those struggling with addiction or mental health issues.

It is useful to consider this recent history as Dayton and legislative leaders near the finish line on the critical process of setting our state's next two-year budget. Bipartisan investments have restored a once-faltering justice system, and an ongoing commitment to prioritizing public safety and access to justice can keep that system strong in the future. Today, with the state enjoying a stable economy and more than a billion-dollar budget surplus, lawmakers should take this opportunity to strengthen Minnesota's justice system and expand access to justice.

This session, Minnesota's judicial branch and its justice partners have brought forward a targeted list of budget priorities that will help achieve those goals. These priorities include ensuring that we have enough judges in our district courts to process growing caseloads in a timely and efficient manner; that Minnesotans in need have greater access to guardians ad litem, public defenders and civil legal aid lawyers, and that our state can continue to attract experienced attorneys and professionals to work in its justice system. We are also seeking the Legislature's help so that we can sustain our treatment court programs, pay for psychological evaluations in criminal and civil commitment cases, provide interpreter services for court participants who are hard of hearing or have limited-English proficiency, and invest in cybersecurity so that our courts can better protect private data and electronic case records from cyberattacks. These funding requests are aimed at making our courts more accessible, more efficient, and better able to serve the people of Minnesota.

Thankfully, making our justice system a priority does not mean that lawmakers have to set aside their other goals for the session. In total, the investments the judicial branch and our justice partners (public defenders, guardians ad litem, civil legal services providers and prosecutors) request can be fully funded for approximately 5 percent of the current budget surplus — a modest price to ensure the stability of our courts, the timely processing of cases and improved outcomes in our justice system.

Minnesota has already seen what happens when our justice system fails to be a priority. The judicial branch cannot be treated as a luxury; it is a necessity. Our Constitution promises access to justice to all Minnesotans and charges the judicial branch with delivering that promise. The Constitution places the responsibility to fund the judicial branch in the hands of the other two branches of our government.

I hope all Minnesotans will join me in calling on the governor and Legislature to work in a bipartisan fashion this session to invest a small portion of the state's budget surplus in the justice system so that we can keep this bedrock of democracy strong.

Lorie Skjerven Gildea is chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.