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Connecticut justices aren’t lounging poolside, idling away the summer, justices want to point out, especially after critics didn’t seem to be impressed with the pace of business at the state’s highest court.

Rather than jetting off while the court isn’t hearing oral arguments, justices say they’re logging full workweeks, holding post-argument conferences, taking preliminary votes and doing other work, despite not overseeing hearings.

“There are no shrinking violets on this court,” Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Robinson said. ”My guess would be that people think since the court is not in session during the summer, we are all on vacation and not doing things court-related. Those inside baseball know this is a constant.”

But observers—including the Connecticut Law Tribune’s editorial board—say the state Supreme Court has been tardy in handing down decisions in recent years, summer or not.

“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,” the board wrote in a July 18 editorial. “Justice delayed is indeed justice denied.”

But the chief justice said he expects that to change, as his colleagues—many of whom are new to the high court—gain their stride.

“We do need to get decisions out as quickly as possible,” Robinson said. “People are waiting for these decisions that impact their lives, but we also want to get decisions out that are sound in the quickest time possible.”

Even though many might think the justices take a two-month summer break and are on vacation sipping cold drinks, Robinson said there is plenty of work to be done, and the justices remain available to talk to their colleagues on cases.

He said he and his colleagues continue to work 40-hour weeks at the court during the summer, often exceeding 50 or 60 hours.

The court’s timeliness in handing down decisions came under scrutiny in an editorial titled “What’s the Holdup at the Connecticut Supreme Court?” The piece noted the court seemed to be struggling to get its decisions out as quickly as it had, back in the 1990s and early 2000s. For example, the opinion piece noted that as of July 12, the court had issued opinions on 10 of 17 cases argued last September; 12 of 17 heard last October, and seven of 17 argued in November.

But Robinson attributes the delay to one of the biggest rotations in the court’s history, with four new justices appointed after Robinson, who began his tenure during the 2012 and 2013 session.

“That is a lot of justices in a short period of time,” the chief justice said. “It will get better with time. It’s sort of like a marriage. When you start working together and figuring out efficiencies, things get smoother.”

Robinson said the court “was steady for a long time and was known as the [Gov. Lowell] Weicker court. Things then started to change, and people got older and started reaching the retirement age of 70, or opted for other careers.”

The justices heard their last oral arguments in May and do not return to chambers for the first session of the 2019-2020 season until Sept. 16. During the summer months, they all have access to each other’s mailboxes and to clerks.

The chief justice said, “Cases are still worked on and decided during July and August.”