James Emmett Barrett (April 8, 1922 – November 7, 2011) was a United States federal judge.
Born in Lusk, Wyoming, Barrett was in the United States Army from during World War II, from 1942 to 1945, and received an LL.B. from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1949. He was in private practice in Lusk from 1949 to 1967, serving as a prosecuting attorney in Lusk from 1951 to 1962, and as a town attorney from 1954 to 1956. He was a Secretary-treasurer of Niobrara County Republican Central Committee from 1950 to 1966, and the attorney for the Niobrara Consolidated School District from 1952 to 1962. He became the Wyoming Attorney General from 1967 to 1971.
On March 25, 1971, Barrett was nominated by President Richard Nixon to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated by John J. Hickey. Barrett was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 21, 1971, and received his commission on April 23, 1971. He assumed senior status on April 8, 1987. He died on November 7, 2011.