A 40-year-old Delaware County, Ohio man was charged with assaulting, raping, and kidnapping his wife in 2005. Max Hiltner was brought in to help try the case by local counsel. This case was originally dismissed, only to be reopened 11 years later in 2016. These charges rested on the word of the alleged victim and local police officers. If convicted, Hiltner’s client could have faced over 30 years in prison. During the four-day trial, Hiltner presented evidence of witness dishonesty and faulty investigation and advocated passionately for his client. This ultimately led the jury to find not guilty verdicts on all felony charges. Out of the 30 years in prison the client was facing, he received zero.

In Canton, Ohio, a hard-working young father was falsely accused by his ex-wife of assaulting her, and he was charged with domestic violence. If convicted, he stood to lose his job, custody over his son, and his reputation. At a jury trial, Hiltner cross-examined the supposedly neutral eyewitness and revealed through phone records that the defendant’s ex-wife had staged the whole incident and planted witnesses in an attempt to gain full custody of their child. After less than five minutes of deliberating, the jury found the client not guilty of all charges.