The issues surrounding his adoption are controversial, as part of a program of forced adoptions practised by some Catholic religious orders in Ireland at the time, and the story of that early part of his life was later told in British journalist Martin Sixsmith's book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee and in the film Philomena.

[1] Hess's birth mother Philomena Lee became pregnant at age 18 at a local carnival by a man named John who worked for the post office.

As was common practice in Ireland at the time, the nuns sold him to the American couple, Ardo Michael "Doc" Hess and Marjorie "Marge" Lane.

He was an important figure in the redistricting battles of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and was admired for his integrity and pursuit of justice on the critical issue of gerrymandering.

[8] The programme of forced adoptions by some ecclesiastical authorities in Ireland and elsewhere during the 1950s has raised considerable debate, and the Michael Hess case has further highlighted this.