She influenced her husband's views on those issues, though he never formally joined her church.[37]
Hayes had begun his law practice dealing primarily with commercial issues but won greater prominence in Cincinnati as a criminal defense attorney,[38] defending several people accused of murder.[39] In one case, he used a form of the insanity defense that saved the accused from the gallows; she was instead confined to a mental institution.[40] Hayes also defended slaves who had escaped and been accused under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.[41] As Cincinnati was just across the Ohio River from Kentucky, a slave state, it was a destination for escaping slaves and many such cases were tried in its courts. A staunch abolitionist, Hayes found his work on behalf of fugitive slaves personally gratifying as well as politically useful, as it raised his profile in the newly formed Republican Party.[42]
His political reputation rose with his professional plaudits. Hayes declined a Republican nomination for a judgeship in 1856.[43] Two years later, some Republicans proposed Hayes to fill a vacancy on the bench and he considered accepting the appointment until the office of city solicitor also became vacant.