[1] Immediately thereafter, he volunteered for military service in the United States Army, He was on a tour of duty as a lieutenant teaching artillery fire at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, at the time the armistice ended World War I in 1918.
[1] He entered the private practice of law at Ames, Iowa, as the junior partner of Lee & Garfield.
In 1926, he was elected as a Republican as a trial-court judge for Iowa's Eleventh Judicial District.
Soon after his retirement, he agreed to serve as a hearing officer for University of Iowa students and groups subjected to discipline as part of antiwar activities.
[3] Garfield's 28-year-tenure on the Iowa Supreme Court was not exceeded until 2006 by Justice Jerry L. Larson, who retired soon thereafter.