15 Facts About Charlie Baird

Charlie Baird is the only judge in the state of Texas to have exonerated a deceased individual, which he did in the case of Tim Cole.

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

Charlie Baird earned his Master of Laws in Judicial Process from The University of Virginia School of Law in 1995.

Keller was forced to issue the opinion only because Charlie Baird dissented on the case, which the majority preferred to address without a written opinion.

Judge Charlie Baird taught criminal law and procedure, criminal trial advocacy, capital punishment, and appellate and post-conviction remedies.

In 2005, Charlie Baird was approached by a group of Travis County attorneys encouraging him to run for the seat being vacated by Judge Jon Wisser.

Charlie Baird entered and won the 2006 Democratic Party Primary and 2006 General Election in Travis County and was sworn in on January 1,2006.

Charlie Baird became the first felony district judge in Travis County to use GPS tracking devices for defendants on bond awaiting trial for violent offenses, and took the lead in using alcohol-monitoring equipment for felony probationers.

Charlie Baird worked diligently to establish relationships with businesses and job training programs to help defendants get better jobs.

In February 2009, Charlie Baird presided over hearings related to the case of Tim Cole, a Texas Tech University student convicted of raping a fellow student in 1985.

The hearings in Charlie Baird's court were held after a Lubbock County judge rejected previous similar petitions in August 2008.

Charlie Baird stated that investigators botched the gathering of evidence and withheld information from her, causing her to believe that Cole was the perpetrator.

On January 1,2011, Charlie Baird retired from the bench after deciding not to seek a second term on the 299th Criminal District Court and established the Criminal Law Section of the Fowler Law Firm, PC, a twenty-member firm dedicated to providing excellent representation in every area of the practice of law in Austin, Texas.

In June 2011, Charlie Baird told the Austin American-Statesman he was considering a run against Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg in the 2012 Democratic Primary.

Charlie Baird 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.