Hines was a witness to the assassination of fellow judge John Milton Elliott on March 26, 1879, while the two were leaving the Kentucky State House, by Colonel Thomas Buford, a judge from Henry County, Kentucky. Buford, enraged by Elliott's failure to rule in favor of his late sister in a property dispute, shot Elliott with a double-barreled twelve gauge shotgun filled with buckshot after Hines had turned and walked away from Elliott. Hines inspected the body as Buford surrendered to a deputy sheriff who had come to investigate the turmoil.
Hines was present when Judge John Milton Elliott was assassinated by Colonel Thomas Buford on March 26, 1879, outside the Kentucky State House. Buford shot Elliott with a double-barreled shotgun loaded with buckshot after Hines had walked away. Hines then inspected the body as Buford surrendered to authorities.