A native of Oregon, he served as an active judge for eleven years, and was in private legal practice in Salem before that.
[5] While in Salem he became friends with later United States Senator Mark Hatfield in the 1950s, and remained in private practice in the city until 1987.
[2] Marsh oversaw the legal proceedings by the federal government against the State of Oregon over the Fairview Training Center in Salem in the late 1980s.
[4] This included later oversight of the Sohappy v. Smith case concerning tribal rights to salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest.
[4] Marsh presided over the 1995 trial of several former followers of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh after their failed assassination plot against U.S. Attorney for Oregon Charles H.
[16] Marsh was the main person from the judiciary involved with the design of the new Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse.
[4] He worked with the General Services Administration to design the 16-story, and nearly $130 million building to ensure adequate space for 30 years.