He received a Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1966 and then attended the Graduate Tax Program at New York University School of Law.

He established his practice with his family's private law firm in Yazoo City, Mississippi from 1966 to 1983, and was also a youth counselor for the Yazoo County Youth Court from 1971 to 1982.

[1] Barbour was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on March 15, 1983, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi vacated by Judge William Harold Cox.

He served as Chief Judge from 1989 to 1996, and assumed senior status on February 4, 2006.

[1] Barbour indicated that he would take inactive senior status on January 4, 2019, meaning that while he remained a federal judge, he no longer heard cases or participated in the business of the court.