Over the course of his first 3 years as presiding judge of the 299th District Court, Judge Charlie Baird has shown himself to be a true believer in following the law and dispensing even-handed justice. How does the DA's office like that? Not very well, apparently.

The 2010 Democratic primaries may well be the first time in history that the Travis County DA's Office has run an opponent against an incumbent criminal court judge. To read more, see this Austin American-Statesman article.

3/18/09 UPDATE. Judge Baird's opponent has backed out of the race. See this Statesman article for more.