Born in Bethlehem, Connecticut, to the Reverend George Wallace Banks and Eliza Frances,[1][2] Banks attended Guilford High School,[2] and graduated from Yale University in 1889,[3] where he was in Phi Beta Kappa.
[4] Over the next two decades, Banks continued to practice law, both in partnerships and as a solo practitioner, also serving on a state committee for the revision of statutes from 1915 to 1918.
[2] In 1919, Governor Marcus H. Holcomb appointed Banks to the Connecticut Superior Court,[1][3] with Banks being sworn in on January 10, 1920, and obtaining a reputation for speeding the legal process along by identifying and eliminating irrelevant issues.
[1] On June 30, 1927, Banks was sworn in to succeed Howard J. Curtis on the state supreme court.
[2] Banks was an avid fisherman and golfer,[1] and on his retirement from the court was presented by his fellow judges with camping and fishing gear.