In 1892, Reid was elected as a District Court Judge for Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, remaining in that office until 1904.
[1] During this twelve-year period, Reid was credited with "a virtual suppression of the lawlessness which afflicted portions of his district", with tensions rising to the point that "guards were utilized to prevent the threatened assassination of Reid by contending factions in the feuds that were going on during the period".
[3][1] In 1922, Reid ran for an open seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court, handily defeating opponent Harney Felix Brunot in October of that year.
[1] Reid married Katherine Buck of Tangipahoa Parish, with whom he had a large number of children, eleven of whom survived him.
[1] His eldest son, Columbus Reid, was proposed to succeed him on the bench,[5] but judge Brunot was ultimately selected for the seat.