Career
Tarlton practiced law in Texas from 1899 to 1904. Texas Governor Jim Hogg appointed him to the Commission of Appeals in 1891. In 1892, Tarlton was elected Chief Justice of the Court of Civil Appeals.
From 1904 to 1919, he was a distinguished Professor of Law at University of Texas School of Law.
The University of Texas School of Law Tarlton Law Library was named in his honor in 1951.