He was a Legislative assistant to United States Senator Dewey F. Bartlett from 1976 to 1977.
On September 4, 2001, Heaton was nominated by President George W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma vacated by Ralph Gordon Thompson.
[2] The case would ultimately reach the Supreme Court, where Oklahoma’s ban on out-of-state water sales was unanimously upheld in Tarrant Regional Water District, Petitioner v. Rudolf John Herrmann, et al..
In November 2012, Heaton ruled against Hobby Lobby in its bid not to be forced to provide emergency contraception to its employees.
On July 19, 2013, he granted the company a preliminary injunction, barring HHS from enforcing the contraception mandate against Hobby Lobby and its affiliate Mardel Christian Bookstores.