Additionally, Rice has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Dayton School of Law since 1976.

[1] President Jimmy Carter nominated Rice to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on April 14, 1980, to the seat vacated by Judge Timothy Sylvester Hogan.

He was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 21, 1980, and received his commission two days later.

Rice served as chief judge from 1996 to 2003 before assuming senior status on November 30, 2004.

[1] On December 13, 2018, President Donald Trump signed legislation naming the federal building in Dayton the Walter H. Rice Federal Building and United States Courthouse.