Barns Born in Plant City, Florida,[1] Barns was an aerial gunner and then an aerial gunnery instructor in the United States Army Air Corps during World War I.
[2] He graduated from the University of Florida College of Law in 1920,[3] Barns became a judge of the Dade Civil Court of Record in 1929, and then a circuit judge until his election to the Florida Supreme Court in 1946,[2] to a seat vacated by the retirement of Justice Armstead Brown.
[4] Barns "thoroughly disliked Tallahassee",[4] but expressed a sense of civic obligation to continue in the position until his resignation in 1949.
[4] Barns then returned to private practice in Miami, also occasionally teaching at the University of Miami School of Law, and serving as a substitute judge by special appointment.
[1] Barns died in Miami, Florida, from pulmonary fibrosis attributed to his military service.