An attorney for the man charged with vehicular manslaughter while driving a heavy-duty forklift wants to quash the prosecution’s efforts to get details about David Baskett’s certification for operating the equipment.
Baskett, 81, returned Tuesday to a Santa Maria courtroom, where his attorney also asked to send the case to a military diversion program or Veterans Treatment Court.
The criminal case stems from the crash that killed Tiffany Ann Peterson, 39, of Orcutt on the afternoon of May 2.
Peterson was a passenger in a small truck driven by her father on Skyway Drive when it struck the tines of the rented telehandler, or telescoping forklift, driven by Baskett, who was stopped on Hangar Street near the Santa Maria Public Airport.
Baskett has been charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence in the case.
Defense attorney Adrienne Harbottle filed a motion to quash after Deputy District Attorney Ryan Clausen subpoenaed Baskett’s business seeking “all records related to certification of David Earnest Baskett to operate a telehandler.”
Much larger than a traditional forklift used in a warehouse, a telehandler has forks attached to a boom arm. Baskett was driving after leaving the airport property to return the equipment to a rental company.
Harbottle argued the subpoena sent to TTE International, Inc. would violate Baskett’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination since he is the sole proprietor.
“Mr. Baskett is now in a position where he would be forced to possibly incriminate himself in violation of the U.S. Constitution on a matter, where even the court stated, the current charge is one of the most serious misdemeanor charges one can face,” Harbottle wrote in her motion.
The defense motion asked the court to conduct an “in camera review of the affidavit to determine if it merits being sealed, and consequently, whether it can be revealed in its entirety to the prosecution.”
Judge Karen O’Neil and the attorneys agreed to return Jan. 7 for the motion to quash, providing time for the prosecuting attorney to file a response.
Tuesday morning, the defense attorney also asked the judge to refer the case to the military diversion court, also known as Veterans Treatment Court, since Baskett served in the Army.
Deputy District Attorney Madison Whitmore, standing in for her colleague, objected, saying it should remain in the misdemeanor court and be resolved there.
O’Neil also said they should handle the procedural issues related to the defense motion before discussing whether to send the case to Veterans Treatment Court.
Designed to provide treatment and other services to those involved in a criminal case, Veterans Treatment Court also can help to dismiss a case, reduce felonies to misdemeanors, or avoid jail time.
The program, which started in 2011 in Santa Maria, 2012 in Santa Barbara, and 2016 in Lompoc, began with a goal of helping military veterans struggling with addiction, serious mental illness, and/or co-occurring disorders often linked to military service that landed them with criminal troubles, according to the court website.
Baskett currently serves on the Santa Maria Public Airport District and Santa Maria Joint Union High School District boards.
However, he recently lost his re-election bid for the airport board after challenger Tony Guy received 75.7% of the votes compared to 23.8% for Baskett.