MICHEAL JOHN HINTON, SR.
1941-2020
MIKE HINTON
1941-2020
The mold was broken after this one came along. On April 19, 1941 in Kansas City, Missouri, Michael John Hinton was born, the third of four children born to Charlie and Bernice Hinton. Sadly, he broke the mortal bonds with us on Oct. 1, 2020, surrounded by his loving family. He spent 79 remarkable years practicing law, playing drums, raising children and winning the hearts of hundreds who came to know this man who lived bigger than life itself. The world is now a lesser place for having lost this husband, father, grandfather and friend.
Mike graduated from the University of Texas with a BBA in Finance and entered the University of Texas Law School, graduating and becoming licensed to practice law in 1967.
Known to his legion of friends as “Uncle Mike” he also earned the nickname of “Machine Gun” for his high-energy, hard-charging, non-stop pursuit of justice while an assistant district attorney in Harris County. Mike’s lifelong career began in 1967 as a prosecutor in Amarillo and continued with his move three years later to Houston, when he was hired by Harris County District Attorney Carol Vance.
One of Mike’s many accomplishments in the District Attorney’s Office in Houston was being instrumental in helping form the Special Crimes Bureau. He was a charter member from its inception in 1972, alongside his friends Sam Robertson, Bob Bennett, Ron Woods, and Warren “Whizzer” White, in forming the new division. Together these men formed quite the notorious gang of crime fighters.
Mike was lead counsel in many high-profile cases when he served in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, including the conviction of the “Candyman”— known as the man who ruined Halloween—by poisoning his own son. While in the Special Crimes Bureau,
Mike tried and convicted the father of a child victim in the highly publicized “radiation castration” case. He was also the lead prosecutor in one of Houston’s most notorious mass murder cases which was the city’s first involving multiple homicides. These are just a few of the many casesMike tried as a public servant in Harris County.
While a prosecutorMike was active in the Texas District and County Attorney Association, serving on the board, and played a major role, along with a select panel of prosecutors, defense counsel, and judges, in drafting the new Texas Penal Code in 1974. He remained a
member of that association’s foundation board until his death.
In 1978, Mike went into private practice. He took the same trial skills, zeal and passion for seeking justice into the defense of his clients. He formed a criminal defense firm together with close friend Johnny Pizzitola and Bob Sussman. The firm later became Hinton & Bailey,
LLP, the second named partner being Joe Bailey, who Mike met as a young prosecutor and who later became his law partner. The two enjoyed a close friendship and partnership for many years.
Mike had four children while in college and law school: Kimberley, Michael John, Jr., Lucinda and
Charla. Each lovingly survive him and will miss him every day.
Those who have been lucky enough to know him know that once you’ve come to call Mike “friend” you have a loyal friend for life – a life he lived large. Mike Hinton never met a stranger. His friends and family agree: to know him is to love him. Mike was the original “give you the shirt right off his back” kind of guy. His love for his wife Dodie was a love as big as Texas and he demonstrated that everyday they were together. He will be missed by so many, and there will never be another one quite like him.
Mike was predeceased by his parents and older brother, Boyd. He is survived by his loving wife, Dodie Ramirez; his children, Kimberley, Michael John, Jr., Lucinda Crain and Charla Changos; grandchildren, Charlie and Josephine Schwan and Catherine Changos; nephews Mark andMichael Boyd; brother Pete, niece Nichole and nephew Brook; sister Jayne and brother-in-law Jerry Gross, and nephews Joe and John.
A Celebration of Life will be held at a later time.