Tim Baldwin, JD

Biography

Born in Pensacola, Florida in 1979, Timothy Baldwin lived in Pensacola his entire life, except for the time when he was enrolled at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama. Baldwin chose to uproot his family in 2010 from Florida (with much sacrifice) to become a citizen of the state of Montana and a community member of Flathead Valley. Montana is home sweet home to Baldwin and his family.

Baldwin attended Pensacola Junior College (now Pensacola State College) from 1997 to 1999, obtaining his Associate of Arts degree in 1999 with a focus on English Literature. From there, Baldwin attended the University of West Florida from 1999 to 2001, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Political Science. During that four year period of being a full time student, Baldwin also was employed nearly full time to pay for life expenses. From there, Baldwin chose to attend Cumberland School of Law because of its nationally-recognized trial program, producing some of the country’s best trial lawyers. As a trial program competitor, Baldwin won numerous awards for his performances. Graduating in the top third of his class and making the dean’s list, Baldwin graduated with a Juris Doctorate degree in 2004 at the age of 24.

During his law student career, Baldwin interned and clerked for a variety of lawyers, including former Congressman Joe Scarborough, Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office and other successful law firms. After passing the Florida bar exam in 2004, Baldwin began his law practice at the State Attorney’s Office in the First Judicial Circuit of Florida. There, Baldwin handled and prosecuted literally thousands of criminal cases, both misdemeanor and felony; and tried nearly 60 jury trials from 2004 to 2006. While Baldwin was one of the youngest attorneys in the office, he obtained more trial experience than most attorneys obtain in an entire career.

In October of 2006, Baldwin (at age 26) left the State Attorney’s Office to begin his own law practice in Pensacola. Baldwin developed and managed a successful law practice and represented hundreds of individuals and companies. Baldwin used ingenuity in creating a very unique legal service for property management companies–unlike any other law practice in the United States–and represented nearly 30 property management companies. During the interim, Baldwin wrote a political book entitled, Freedom For A Change, which was published by Agrapha Publishing (Orlando, FL) in 2010. Baldwin has been actively involved in the political discussions, having written hundreds of political articles; and has been a public speaker across the U.S. at a variety of forums and events such as, the TEA Party Tax Day rally in Houston, TX with thousands of attendees and participants; radio shows; political party events; educational programs; and legal lectures.

In early fall of 2010, Baldwin became a citizen of the state of Montana, moving to Kalispell to make his home. Having already passed the Montana bar exam in February 2010, Baldwin began his law practice in January 2011 and has already handled cases that are making statewide impact, such as filing a declaratory judgment action against Flathead County Attorney, Ed Corrigan, to seek clarification of the Medical Marijuana Act. Baldwin is actively involved in community events relative to political and social issues and is deeply interested in engaging public discussion on a variety of political and social issues.

Baldwin is the husband to Jennifer and father to tenth month old Abigail, with another baby due on 9/11/11. Baldwin is the youngest of three children and is the son of Chuck and Connie Baldwin.

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________
My FVCC Trustee Campaign: Why I Am Running

Thomas Jefferson said, “education is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power” (see, Jeffersonian Cyclopedia, 2). Given my involvement in the study and practice of law and politics, I find this quote to be fascinating and profound. At first glance, the statement may appear overstated or too generalized, but when one understands what education truly is, Jefferson’s statement should ring true as applied not only to constitutional power, but to all areas of life.

To me, education is one of the most crucial elements of a successful life. Upon this basis, I have placed my name as a candidate for the Flathead Valley Community College trustee position, the election for which is May 3, 2011 in Flathead County, Montana.

So, what is education?

Before stating what it is, it is important to observe what it is not. Education is not mere dogma or recital. A student being told by his political science teacher that positive law is the only binding law on societies is not education. That is dogma. A child having to regurgitate his professor’s lectures is not education. That is recital.

Education is a process through which the student is instructed on how to use his or her faculties to obtain the truth of a general and particular matter. It is “the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life” (See, dictionary.com).

What is distinctive quality between dogma/recital and education?

In short, education is learning how to learn—denoting a cycle or process, a never-ending phenomenon. It is learning how to become intellectually creative, independent and self-reliant. The process of education never stops, and the more mature one becomes, the more important it is that the process becomes more intricate, elaborate and accurate.
When Jefferson said “education is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power”, did he mean that knowing how to derive complicated algebraic formulas will equip a citizen with knowledge of how to correctly judge government actions relative to constitutional limitations?

On their faces, they appear to be completely unrelated. However, given the true definition of education, I believe the example given does in fact equip a citizen with such knowledge–not because mathematic formulas directly enlighten one’s mind relative to political formulas but because one who knows how to calculate truth on a mathematical formula will be better equipped to know how to calculate truth in a political formula.

It is the search for truth that causes people to question, to seek and to find. True education will have the profound impact of opening one’s mind and broadening her horizon’s based upon how she is able to make conclusions using her own observation, study and analysis relative to the given facts.

I attended formal education on many levels, obtaining my Juris Doctorate degree at the age of 24. When I completed my formal education, I realized that my life’s education had just begun. I realized that education is not just about being taught; it is about teaching—teaching myself on what it means to be educated and on how to apply it in life. I learned how education relates to my relationship with my wife and family; to my performance as an attorney and business owner; to my ability to raise my children; to my quality as a citizen of the state of Montana; to my being a member of the community of the Flathead. In reality, education is the process of life.

The students and staff at Flathead Valley Community College should have an educational environment that reflects the importance education has on one’s life, not just while he or she is attending the college, but especially after graduation. Critical and broad thinking are a must. Honest and intellectual debates are requisite. Tolerance and open-mindedness are vital.

Teachers must be encouraged to challenge their students. Students must be rewarded for exploration. Opportunity, incentive and creativity are essential. Human intellect must build sound theory. Theory must be applied in practice. Practice must be based upon principle. All of this must be combined to impress upon each student’s mind the importance of human value, contribution and character.

In conjunction, having respect for each other will encourage the process of education. Respect is based upon the foundation of human experience and value, which reveal the truth that no one person knows everything but everyone knows something from which we can all learn; that we all share similarities and yet diversities of life’s difficulties and pleasures; and that the betterment of our community, State and federal union are the fruits of our hard work, honesty, character, virtue and integrity. It is the competition of ideas and the synergy of human effort that will move a people—a college forward, tilling the fertile soil in which the process of education can thrive.

What better place for such a product and environment than at Flathead Valley Community College? I want to help make FVCC such a place.