Counts received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983 from Texas Tech University.

He began his legal career as an associate at the law firm of Martin, Cox, Greenberg & Jones.

From 1995 to 2009, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas.

[1] On March 15, 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Counts to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, to the seat vacated by Judge Robert A. Junell, who assumed senior status on February 13, 2015.

[6] On January 11, 2018, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 90–1 vote.