Laura L. Baird (born 1 October 1952) is an American politician and judge. She was a member of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

from 1995 to 2000, when she was elected a judge of the

Michigan Circuit Court The judiciary of Michigan is defined under the Michigan Constitution, law, and regulations as part of the Government of Michigan. The court system consists of the Michigan Supreme Court, the Michigan Court of Appeals as the intermediate appellate c ...

Personal life and legal career

Baird was born on 1 October 1952 in northern Michigan, to parents Boyd C. Baird and Nancy L. Tingley. Her father and grandfather both served as probate judges. Baird attended

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

, graduating in 1975, then earned her J.D. degree from Thomas Cooley Law School in 1979. She was placed on the court-appointed list for legal cases regarding abuse and neglect shortly after graduating from law school. Baird worked at a private legal practice, Baird & Zulakis, from 1980 to 2000, with her husband George Zulakis. Laura Baird and George Zulakis had three children, Michael, Nicholas, and Zoe. Nicholas died in 2001. Zoe enrolled at the

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent Law ...

in 2018. Laura Baird's father Boyd C. Baird died in 2008.

Political career

Baird later moved to

Okemos, Michigan Okemos ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population of the CDP was 21,369 at the 2010 census. Okemos is located mostly within Meridian Charter Township, with a small portion extending sout ...

, and was

Ingham County Ingham County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 284,900. The county seat is Mason. Lansing, the state capital of Michigan, is largely located within the county. (Lansing is the only ...

commissioner from 1992 to 1994, representing the 11th district. She ran for the 70th district seat on the

in 1994, as a

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

candidate, and won. Baird was elected to another term in 1996, and remained in office from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2000. Baird was elected a judge of the

in 2000, 2006, 2012, and 2018. In 2013, Baird was elected vice president of the Michigan Judges Association, and became president of the MJA in December 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, Laura 1952 births Living people Women state legislators in Michigan Michigan Democrats Michigan lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American politicians People from Okemos, Michigan 21st-century American judges Michigan state court judges Western Michigan University alumni Western Michigan University Cooley Law School alumni County commissioners in Michigan 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women judges