Baez was born to Puerto Rican parents in Manhattan, New York City,[1] and raised in the Bronx and South Florida with his three sisters by his single mother.
He spent three years assigned in connection with NATO at Norfolk, Virginia, trained as an intelligence analyst, and held a Top Secret security clearance.
[4] After leaving the navy in 1989, Baez attended Miami-Dade Community College, then transferred to Florida State University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts.
[6][7] He also tried the first-degree murder case of Nilton Díaz, heavily covered by the media in Orlando and Puerto Rico because the victim was the two-year-old granddaughter of World Boxing Champion Wilfredo Vazquez.
Baez authored a book with Peter Golenbock about the Anthony Case, Presumed Guilty, which was published on July 3, 2012, and became a New York Times Best Seller.
[13] Baez defended Giordano on the American reality prime time court show You the Jury, which was canceled after two episodes.
Baez was working with former NFL player Aaron Hernandez to appeal his conviction for the murder of Odin Lloyd up until Hernández's apparent suicide on April 19, 2017.
[18] Baez stated publicly he does not believe Hernandez committed suicide and is "determined to find the truth surrounding his untimely death" as "Aaron was looking forward to an opportunity for a second chance to prove his innocence.
[21] On September 21, 2017, Baez announced Aaron Hernandez had been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy by Dr. Ann McKee of Boston University, and that he had filed a federal lawsuit, on behalf of Hernandez's daughter, against the National Football League and the New England Patriots, seeking unspecified damages for loss of parental support.
[22] In the summer of 2019, Baez, along with Ronald Sullivan and Duncan Levin represented Mark Nordlicht, the CIO of the billion-dollar hedge fund, Platinum Partners.
Baez tried the case over a two-month period in an Eastern District of New York courtroom, winning his client acquittals on all counts.