Office: Ashtabula Eastern County Court
Age: 59
Residence: Dorset, OH
Email: michaelhiener1959@gmail.com
Website: www.electhiener.com, Facebook @electhiener
Occupation: Attorney, Denmark Township Trustee, Owner Peters Creek Farm, Ltd.
Education: B.S. 1983, J.D. 1986 both from The Ohio State University
Work Experience: Associate at Smith and Hiener, Sidney Municipal Prosecutor in Sidney, Ohio. Litigation Associate Wuliger Fadel and Beyer in Cleveland, Ohio. Partner Bates, Hiener and Vince in Madison, Ohio. Solo practice Jefferson, Ohio.
Family: Married 29 years to Dr. Diane Veale, Jefferson veterinarian.
Affiliations: Member of Board of Directors of the Ashtabula County Farm Bureau. Co-founder of the Ashtabula County Bridge Street Farmers Market. Member of the Ashtabula County Bar Association and the Ohio State Bar Association.
Endorsements: N/A
Bar Association Ratings: N/A
(1) List your judicial experience (courts and years):
Former arbitration chairman in Lake County Ohio. 18 years experience Acting Judge in both the Eastern and Western Ashtabula County Courts. I served as Acting Judge 5 weeks in 2017 and 4 weeks so far in 2018. I have served in both courts on the same day, one in the morning, the other in the afternoon.
2) What about your non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?
I have had a well balanced practice in my career. I have been both prosecutor and defense attorney handling bench and jury trials. I have experience in civil and criminal cases and I have been accepted as an attorney on the Roster of Attorneys for the Eleventh District Court of Appeals where I have freed people who were wrongfully convicted. I have represented clients in the State of Ohio Courts including the Ohio Supreme Court and the Federal Courts both at the trial level and in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. But the most important aspect of my experience is learning about the human condition. Not every person who is in court is the next Charles Manson. While we do see our share of truly bad actors, like multiple drunk driving offenders, who must be dealt with severely, we often deal with decent people in bad circumstances. We may see a person charged with driving with a suspended license because his auto insurance lapsed when he was laid off work. Instead of “throwing the book” at him we will have the Court’s probation department work with him to get his driver’s license reinstated and make sure he is insured. Then the defendant will be offered a pleas bargain with a fine and court costs to pay. He has been punished but more importantly we now have a licensed, insured driver on the road. My life’s experience and legal experience allow me to tell the difference between bad people and people in a bad way.
(3) Why are you running for this particular court seat?
I enjoy the intellectual challenge that comes with being a judge. Applying the law to a set of facts can be like putting a puzzle together. There is a sense of satisfaction once the puzzle has been put together and a ruling has been made. Judges do some things that are just fun to do. I have always enjoyed performing wedding ceremonies, seeing joy in peoples faces when they hear “I now pronounce you husband and wife”. (It’s the only time I can give a life sentence.) The courts at this level are good problem solving courts, as my example above shows. Finally, I wish to serve my community by helping people we can help or protecting people from those who wish to do them harm.