Marcus was elected to the
New Orleans City Council in 1962, and was reelected in 1966, although he left the city council shortly into his second term after winning election as a district court judge, where he remained until his election to the state supreme court. He was elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court in 1973, defeating
Jim Garrison, among others, to win the seat. He was twice reelected, in 1980, and without opposition in 1990. He declined to run for a fourth term in 2000. As a justice, Marcus "won a reputation as a consensus builder", and saw a substantial proportion of his opinions become majority opinions of the court. ==Personal life and death==