Born on May 1, 1900, in Baraboo, Wisconsin,[1] Barnes played high school football at San Diego High for Clarence "Nibs" Price, who encouraged his brightest players, starting with Barnes, to follow his path to Berkeley to play for the California Golden Bears under coach Andy Smith.

[3] California was also undefeated and untied in 1921 until the Bears tied Washington & Jefferson 0–0 on a muddy field in the Rose Bowl.

[citation needed] For his part, Barnes became a Superior Court Judge in Los Angeles.

He was Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles from 1947 to 1953.

[6] On March 5, 1956, Barnes was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated by Judge William Edwin Orr.