Marcus is a native of Defiance, Iowa having grown up in a family of ten children.
Marcus graduated from Harlan Community High School in 1984. After high school he
went on to college at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, and graduated in 1987 with
highest honors and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Marcus then graduated from the
University of Iowa School of Law in 1990 with high honors. He was honored in law
school with the Order of the Coif designation. After law school, he worked for four years
with the Office of the General Counsel, United States Department of Agriculture in
Washington, D.C. handling a variety of matters for the General Counsel’s Office. With
USDA, he was twice honored with Certificates of Merit for outstanding service to
USDA.

In 1994, Marcus returned to Harlan entering private practice with the Kohorst Law Firm
until 2003 when he became Shelby County Attorney and started a solo law practice. He
was re-elected Shelby County Attorney in 2006 and 2010.