[1][2] Born in Orange, Texas, Dixon's family moved to Shreveport in 1930, where he graduated from Fair Park High School in 1936 and from Centenary College in 1940.
[1][4] Dixon was discharged as a Staff Sergeant in October 1945,[3] and entered Tulane University Law School, receiving an LL.B.
[4] In 1957, Dixon was elected as a judge of the First Judicial District of Louisiana in Caddo Parish, and he was twice re-elected to that seat.
[1][3] On the court, he was generally considered to be a liberal, because he "championed the cause of the little man", though he "preferred to call himself a strict constructionist".
[3] During his time as a district court judge, Dixon was introduced to running as a hobby, though he initially only participated in the sport for a few years.