SANTA CRUZ — A woman who has served as Santa Cruz County Superior Court commissioner since 2007 has been appointed as judge by Gov. Jerry Brown, the court announced Monday.
Kim Baskett, 64, of Watsonville, has also served as a traffic referee from 2003 to 2007. She served as an Assistant County Counsel at the Santa Cruz County Counsel’s Office from 1994 to 2003.
Baskett earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Monterey College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose State University.
“I am honored and excited to have been appointed to this position,” Baskett said. “I look forward to continuing my work with the court’s staff and judges in providing great service to this community.”
Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Denine Guy described Baskett as a “valuable judicial team member” who has single-handedly taken on all the court’s infraction and traffic cases for 14 years.
She has also covered the misdemeanor courts when those judges are absent, Guy said.
“Our court is the beneficiary of one of the hardest working bench officers I’ve met,” she said. “Her expertise is indispensable as we move forward to reorganize our misdemeanor and lower offense courts.”
