Judge Garcia was born in Jim Wells County, in South Texas, and raised in nearby San Diego, Texas. Judge Garcia obtained his undergraduate Degree in 1975 from the University of Texas at Austin and his JD in 1978 from the University of Texas.

He began his practice of law in San Antonio in 1978. During that time he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1983 and served three terms. He served on the Appropriation and Higher Education Committees. Among the legislation sponsored and passed by then State Representative Garcia was a bill that required the Texas Supreme Court to adopt a rule providing a process related to the sealing of court records. Thereafter, following the passage of the bill, the Texas Supreme Court drafted and formulated a process and adopted a rule related to the sealing of records. Rule 76a of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.

After serving in the Texas Legislature he was elected to the 4th Court of Appeals in November 1990 and served until March 1994, when he was nominated by President William Clinton to serve as United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas and was confirmed by the United States Senate in March 1994. Judge Garcia served as Chief Judge of the Western District from January 2016 through November 2022.

He resides in San Antonio and primarily has responsibilities in the San Antonio Division.