He is chiefly remembered as the author of the Wisconsin Supreme Court opinion Vosburg v. Putney (1890), an important torts case in establishing the scope of liability from battery.

Earlier in his career, he served three non-consecutive terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Madison and central Dane County.

In 1837, Orton moved to Kentucky, where he spent a year as a school teacher, before joining his brother Myron, who was a lawyer, in Indiana.

He was elected as a Whig member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from Dane County's 5th Assembly district (the then-Village of Madison, and the Towns of Town of Madison, Blooming Grove, "Burk" [sic], Westport, Vienna, and Windsor) in 1853, succeeding Democrat Mathew Roche.

In the 1855 Wisconsin gubernatorial election, in the official canvass, Republican Coles Bashford was narrowly defeated by Democrat William A. Barstow.

In 1859, Orton was appointed judge for the 9th Judicial Circuit to fill the vacancy left by Luther S. Dixon, who became a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice.