In 1882, Greene was elected county attorney for Harvey County, Kansas. He served for six years (two and one-half terms) as county attorney before resigning. During his service, Greene worked diligently to break up illegal alcohol traffic in Harvey County. Although he never held political office again until being appointed to the Kansas Supreme Court, Greene was very active in Republican Party politics both at the county and state levels. In 1886 and 1887 he was a member of the Republican state executive committee, and in 1895 and 1896 he was a member of the Republican state central committee.
