Asa Keyes
Encyclopedia
Asa Keyes was district attorney
of Los Angeles County, California
from June 1923 until 1928, when he was found guilty of accepting a bribe from the Julian Petroleum Company and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment. He was pardoned by Governor James Rolph
in August 1933.
Keyes was born August 9, 1877, in Wilmington, California, and attended the University of Southern California
, after which he entered the district attorney's office. When Thomas L. Woolwine
resigned in June 1923, Keyes stepped into his position. A year later Keyes called upon 87 department employees to resign, and he reappointed only 27 of them to form his new team. During 1924 he caused the average length of a felony trial to be cut from 130 to 51 days.
When he died on October 18, 1934, he left his wife, Lillian, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Mrs. Fred McGuire.
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
of Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
from June 1923 until 1928, when he was found guilty of accepting a bribe from the Julian Petroleum Company and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment. He was pardoned by Governor James Rolph
James Rolph
James “Sunny Jim” Rolph, Jr. was an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was elected to a single term as the 27th governor of California from January 6, 1931 until his death on June 2, 1934 at the height of the Great Depression...
in August 1933.
Keyes was born August 9, 1877, in Wilmington, California, and attended the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, after which he entered the district attorney's office. When Thomas L. Woolwine
Thomas L. Woolwine
Thomas Lee Woolwine was a California politician. He was District Attorney of Los Angeles County 1914-1923. He began his career as a deputy DA in 1908. He ran for Governor of California under the Democratic ticket in 1922, but lost to Friend Richardson. See also William Desmond Taylor case. When he...
resigned in June 1923, Keyes stepped into his position. A year later Keyes called upon 87 department employees to resign, and he reappointed only 27 of them to form his new team. During 1924 he caused the average length of a felony trial to be cut from 130 to 51 days.
When he died on October 18, 1934, he left his wife, Lillian, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Mrs. Fred McGuire.
See also
- Ku Klux Klan in Inglewood, CaliforniaKu Klux Klan in Inglewood, CaliforniaKu Klux Klan activities in Inglewood, California, were highlighted by the 1922 arrest and trial of 36 men, most of them masked, for a night-time raid on a suspected bootlegger and his family. The raid led to the shooting death of one of the culprits, an Inglewood police officer. A jury returned a...