Born in Scott County, Virginia, Hilton spent his earliest childhood largely outdoors on a farm and raised an adopted fox.
[3] His family later moved to Dayton, Ohio and he eventually received a Bachelor of Science degree from Ohio State University in 1963 while working as a men's clothier clerk at the Lazarus Department Store.
[3] He achieved a Juris Doctor from the Washington College of Law at American University in 1966, and married his wife Joretta.
Hilton served as chief judge from 1997 to 2004, assuming senior status on December 31, 2005.
In May 2000, Chief Justice William Rehnquist appointed Hilton as a judge on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).