Kenneth Wynne (May 6, 1888- August 19, 1971) was a justice of the

Connecticut Supreme Court The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit in ...

from 1953 to 1958.

Early life, education, and career

Born in Unionville (later Farmington), Connecticut, to attorney John F. Wynne and Henrietta Barnes Kinney Wynne, the family moved to

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, where the Wynne's father opened a law office. Wynne attended the public schools of New Haven, graduating from New Haven High School, and working for a time as a newspaper reporter.J. Warren Upson,
Connecticut Reports
' (1971), volume 161, p. 612-613. Wynne graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and went on to

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

, where he was a member of the school's debate team and on the board of the

Yale Law Journal The ''Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ), known also as the ''Yale Law Review'', is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students ...

, before receiving an

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1910.Kenneth Wynne, 83, Connecticut Judge
, ''

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'' (August 20, 1971). He gained

admission to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

the same year, and thereafter held a variety of positions in public service first as clerk of the State Senate in 1913, then was executive secretary to Governor

Simeon E. Baldwin Simeon Eben Baldwin (February 5, 1840 – January 30, 1927) was an American jurist, law professor, and politician who served as the 65th governor of Connecticut. Education The son of jurist, Connecticut governor and U.S. Senator Roger Sherman ...

in 1914 and 1915. Wynne and his father practiced law in New Haven as the firm of Wynne and Wynne until 1921, when Wynne's father died. Wynne then practiced with various other attorneys, and was appointed assistant city attorney for New Haven beginning in 1923. During this period, Wynne "also served as acting coroner for New Haven County". Wynne served as executive secretary to Governor

Wilbur Lucius Cross Wilbur Lucius Cross (April 10, 1862 – October 5, 1948) was an American literary critic who served as the 71st governor of Connecticut from 1931 to 1939. Biography Born in 1862 in Mansfield, Connecticut, Cross attended Natchaug School in Wil ...

from 1931 to 1935.

Judicial service

In 1936, Wynne was appointed to the Connecticut Superior Court, and in 1939, he presided over a case in which defendants were prosecuted under a statute that made the use of birth control illegal in Connecticut. Wynne wrote a brief decision finding the wording of the law unconstitutional.David J. Garrow, ''Liberty and Sexuality: The Right to Privacy and the Making of Roe v. Wade'' (2015), p. 67-70. In 1953, Wynne was elevated to the Connecticut Supreme Court, serving as chief justice from 1957 until his mandatory retirement in 1958. Wynne died in retirement in

Woodbridge, Connecticut Woodbridge is a New England town, town in New Haven County, Connecticut, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,087 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town center is listed on the National Register of H ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wynne, Kenneth Justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court 1888 births 1971 deaths People from Farmington, Connecticut Yale Law School alumni American coroners 20th-century American judges