[1] He was born in Breckenridge, the seat of Stephens County to the west of Fort Worth, to Mr. and Mrs. John Luke Hill, Sr.

[1] In 1972, Hill was nominated as attorney general when he upset the incumbent Crawford Martin by 100,000 votes in the Democratic primary.

Hill challenged Briscoe in 1978 in the Democratic primary and was successful but lost in the general election to Republican Bill Clements.

Hill practiced law until 1984 when he was elected as Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice to succeed the retiring Jack Pope.

The State Commission on Judicial Conduct chastized two justices and CBS's 60 Minutes offered a story on lawyers who practice in the courts making large donations to campaigns.