Barrett served as a state administrative hearing officer from 1977 until 1978, when he joined the
Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office as an assistant prosecuting attorney and chief assistant. In 1984, he joined the firm Grayden, Head & Ritchey. He began as an associate and became partner at Grayden Head. In 1995, Barrett joined his brother Francis Barrett's firm, Barrett & Weber, and became a shareholder. He practiced at Barrett & Weber until his appointment to the bench. Barrett served as chairman of the Hamilton County
Republican Party from 2001 to 2005 and was instrumental in President Bush's Ohio victory in the
2004 presidential election.
Federal judicial service Barrett was nominated by President
George W. Bush on December 16, 2005 to serve as a
United States district judge of the
United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. He was nominated to a seat vacated by Judge
Walter Herbert Rice. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate on May 1, 2006, and received his commission on May 5, 2006. He assumed
senior status on February 15, 2019. ==References==