Asa Keyes (August 9, 1877 – October 18, 1934) was

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

from June 1923 until 1928, when he was found guilty of accepting a bribe from the

Julian Petroleum Company Julian Petroleum Corporation (nicknamed "Julian Pete") was a Los Angeles based oil company. It collapsed in 1927 amid large-scale fraud, taking over $150 million from 40,000 investors. Background Julian Petroleum was started by Courtney Chauncey ...

and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment. He was pardoned by Governor

James Rolph James "Sunny Jim" Rolph Jr. (August 23, 1869 – June 2, 1934) was an American politician. 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 ...

in August 1933."Asa Keyes Succumbs to Stroke," ''Los Angeles Times,'' page 1. ''(Access to this link may require the use of a library card.)''
/ref> Keyes was born August 9, 1877, in

Wilmington, California Wilmington is a neighborhood in the Harbor region of Los Angeles, California, covering . Featuring a heavy concentration of industry and the third-largest oil field in the continental United States, this neighborhood has a high percentage of Lat ...

, and attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, after which he entered the district attorney's office. When

Thomas L. Woolwine Thomas Lee Woolwine (October 31, 1874 – July 8, 1925) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 27th Los Angeles County District Attorney, District Attorney of Los Angeles County between 1915 and 1923. He began his career as a Depu ...

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keyes, Asa District attorneys in California Lawyers from Los Angeles University of Southern California alumni 1877 births 1934 deaths People from Wilmington, Los Angeles

See also

References