 Barker was in private practice in Jacksonville, Florida from 1916 to 1925, and was a circuit court judge in Highlands County, Florida from 1925 to 1940.President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Barker to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on January 11, 1940, to the seat vacated by Judge Alexander Akerman.Confirmed by the Senate on February 1, 1940, he received his commission on February 5, 1940.