The popularity of the late New Haven, Conn., Superior Court Judge Frank J. Kinney won him a custom-tailored statute in the Connecticut Legislature when his widow claimed he was literally worked to death on the bench, suffering a heart attack in 1986.
That statute was upheld in 2003 by Bridgeport, Conn., Superior Court Judge Richard A. Arnold, who concluded there was a valid legislative purpose in rewarding extraordinarily dedicated public servants. Three years later, Superior Court Judge Anthony Robaina ruled that the statute was not constitutional.
