Charlie Baird

Charlie Baird is an Austin, Texas criminal defense attorney and retired state district court and Texas Court of Criminal Appeals associate judge, is best known for his efforts at promoting restorative justice during his time on the bench. He is the only judge in the state of Texas to have exonerated a deceased individual, which he did in the case of Tim Cole.

Early life

Charlie Baird was born and raised in Gilmer, Texas and is a 1973 graduate of Gilmer High School.

Education

Baird attended Kilgore College, then transferred to The University of Texas, graduating in 1976 with a degree in business administration. After working for Congressman Ray Roberts, Baird returned to Houston and South Texas College of Law; he graduated in December 1980 and began practicing law the following spring.

Baird earned his Master of Laws in Judicial Process from The University of Virginia School of Law in 1995. In 1993, he was named the distinguished alumnus of South Texas College of Law.

He formally launched his campaign for Travis County District Attorney on September 6, 2011, with a launch event in the theater of Austin's Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex. On Tuesday, October 25, Baird and incumbent Rosemary Lehmberg made their first joint debate appearance at the Central Texas Democratic Forum. Following the forum, the Austin Chronicle noted that the race was one of the "hottest" primary races in Travis County.

In the election in June 2012, Baird lost the primary election for Travis County District Attorney to Lehmberg, obtaining about 37% of the votes in the Democratic primary, which meant Lehmberg won re-election, since there was no Republican candidate.

Electoral history Democratic Primary election results (Only contested primary results shown)

General Election results