As he sat in the Connecticut Supreme Court courtroom for the last time on Sept. 28,  Justice Dennis Eveleigh joked the overflow crowd came for his send-off.

Eveleigh’s last case happened to be one of the most watched in Connecticut in years, and focused on supposed inequities in the state’s education funding. After he listened to Chief Justice Chase Rogers praise him for his intellect, guidance and wit, the outgoing justice quipped he had no idea his last day would be so popular.