While the U.S. Supreme Court hears cases from October to April every year and decides virtually all of them by the end of June, the Connecticut Supreme Court is struggling to issue its decisions. As of July 12, the court had issued opinions on 10 of its approximately 17 cases argued last September, 12 of the 17 cases argued last October, seven of its 17 cases argued in November, three of its 14 cases argued in December, one of its 16 cases argued in January 2019, one of its seven cases argued in February, and none of its cases argued this spring.

Furthermore, none of the cases argued in the fall, 2018 were decided until 2019. Rather, all the cases decided in late 2018 had been argued in the 2017- 2018 term, many in 2017. In fact, one of the cases released in July, 2019 was argued in April, 2018, and another case had been argued in November, 2017.

Why there is such a delay in deciding appeals is a bit of a mystery to us. In the 1990s and early 2000s, at least some appeals argued in September were decided by December of the same year, and cases argued the following May or June (in the 1990s the justices heard cases in June as well as in May) were almost always decided by July 31, with opinions released by October. It was well-known to members of the appellate bar that July 31 was truly a “drop-dead date” by which the court had to decide its cases, so the Court could take its vacation, the backlog of cert petitions could be read and everyone would start fresh for the September term with virtually no carryover cases.

The problem is not the number of appeals the court is hearing each year. It heard far more cases each year in the 1990s and early 2000s; so reducing the number further is not the answer. Nor, frankly, is it the complexity of the cases heard, nor the lack of unanimity. Remember the days of the Killer Bs.? (Justice Borden and Justice Berdon were often on opposite sides of an issue.)

We honestly don't know what the problem is but, as the Supreme Court itself has recognized in the context of administrative appeals, for complaint resolution to be effective, resolution has to be expeditious. Justice delayed is indeed justice denied.

People in dissolution actions deserve to know where their children are going to school in September; litigants in zoning cases deserve to know what they can do with their properties; criminal defendants who are ultimately successful in their appeals should not have to serve prison time they can never recover. We strongly urge the justices to do whatever they can to speed up their decision making.