Carolyn Ingalls Keeley, Attorney

Mrs. Keeley joined The Worthington Law Centre in 2005 after retiring from the Monterey County District Attorney's Office where she was the Assistant District Attorney.

In 1980, after graduating from University of Santa Clara Law School in 1979, Mrs. Keeley joined the Monterey County District Attorney's Office and worked as a general deputy for eight years. In 1991 she was hired as one of two Assistant District Attorneys, making her second in command after the elected District Attorney. During her years in the District Attorney's Office, Mrs. Keeley's assignments were rotated among the various units giving her a wide breadth of knowledge of criminal law. While in management, she supervised every unit and maintained an active case load of her own. She was in charge of continuing education and served on many committees.

During a short hiatus from the District Attorney's Office, Mrs. Keeley joined the firm of Heisinger and Buck in Carmel, California where she practiced civil litigation.

In her work with the Worthington Law Centre, Mrs. Keeley maintains an active case load of felony cases both adult and juvenile. She limits her practice of law to the Monterey County courts.

During her years at the Monterey County District Attorney's Office and the Worthington Law Centre, Mrs. Keeley has conducted over 150 jury trials from simple misdemeanor DUI to murder.

Mrs. Keeley is a member of the California State Bar Association and is admitted to the California Supreme Court. She was a member of the California District Attorney Association from 1980 through 2003; she is currently a member of California Attorneys for Criminal Justice and the California Public Defenders Association.

In her first case with The Worthington Law Centre, Mrs. Keeley co-counseled with Mr. Worthington to represent a young man accused of attempted murder in an assault on a person who had molested him. Together, she and Mr. Worthington, along with experts in the field of Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, successfully mounted a defense, resulting in a reduction of the charges and a grant of probation.

Shortly thereafter, she represented a young man in Juvenile Court who was charged with the attempted murder of his own cousin. This young man had a completely clean record. After a trial before the Juvenile Court Judge, the young man was found not guilty and was returned to his family in Salinas.

Followed then by a highly publicized case where a Salinas woman was charged with the murder of a woman in whom she had allegedly injected with cooking oil to obtain Botox like results. After a lengthy preliminary examination, the District Attorney agreed to reduce the murder charge to voluntary manslaughter.

In addition to her career as an attorney, Mrs. Keeley serves on the Board of the Monterey Peninsula College Foundation.

Mrs. Keeley has lived in Monterey County for the past 30 years where she and her husband have raised two children.