Honorees

Captain Arthur J. O’Keefe

1894-1979

Captain Arthur O’Keefe served in the United States Army from 1915 to 1932.  He was a Captain in the artillery who saw extensive combat service during World War I.  He retained the title through all of his legal career.  He served in France, where he was wounded several times.  He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, three Purple Hearts, two Silver Stars, the Coix de Guerre with Palm, and the Legion of Honor.  In July 1918, “O’Keefe was commanding a company of 200 men near Sissons, France when enemy fire reduced his company to 30.” The Distinguished Service citation read:  “Captain O’Keefe personally led a group of automatic riflemen in an attack against a number of enemy who were attempting to cut off the assaulting wave.  By his skillful leadership and gallant conduct, he succeeded in defeating the enemy party.” (San Diego Union, January 21, 1979). 

Upon his graduation from USC Law School, O’Keefe was admitted to the Bar with a class of 55 new admittees in a ceremony in June 1937, presided over by Acting Chief Justice Emmett Seawell (LA Times6/5/37 & State Bar records).

After a tour as a City Prosecutor under the auspices of the offices City Attorney, he was retained as an assistant by James Don Keller after his election to District Attorney in 1946.  From that time forward, he cast his firm imprint on that office.  He interviewed and hired all of the young Deputy District Attorneys, assigned cases for trial, and took the responsibility for the well-being of the office itself.  He continued this service for sixteen years.  Rather than hiring and retaining experienced criminal law practitioners as District Attorney Offices’ traditionally did, O’Keefe hired directly out of law schools.  He traded youth and vigorous enthusiasm for experience and substantive knowledge of the law, criminal procedure, and evidence.  He hired from the same pool as other governmental agencies and his hiring practices produced some of the most outstanding trial lawyers of San Diego.  He focused on their willingness to compete rather than scholarly honors or class standing.  It was an unusual philosophy but it was unmistakably his – and his influence and impact on the profession is permanent and powerful. 

A contemporary of his said on the occasion of O’Keefe’s retirement, “[t]he Captain was quite a man to work under:  if you booted one in the courts, he’d stand right beside you to take any adverse comment in public – and then do his own criticizing in strict private.  I never went to him with a question that I didn’t come away with an answer – perhaps not the one I wanted, but an answer. We always knew exactly where we stood.  And that situation in a public office is a consummation devotedly to be desired.” (Dicta, November 1962, p.10). 

“On the evening of October 18th [1962], a group of deputies who have served in the office with Captain O’Keefe joined with Don Keller to express our respect and admiration for him.  There were approximately 60 in the group, and I know of at least a dozen others who missed it.  The gathering represented a rather sizable percentage of the attorneys actively engaged in trial practice in the County. The speeches were notable for absence, and the only formality was the presentation to the Captain of a very beautiful little gun.  It’s a 380 Browning in the Renaissance design, much too pretty to be shot.  Claude Brown made the arrangements, Mike Kaminar made the presentation, Don Meloche made some remarks for the present staff of deputies, Don Keller expressed his regard and appreciation of the Captain’s services over the years, and Captain O’Keefe responded in his usual vein:  Short, direct, uncompromisingly to the point and no nonsense.  His concluding remark was also typical:  He swore he’d never come back to the office, once he left it, as a defense counsel for some guilty criminal!  It was a delightful event.”  (Id.) 

He was a remarkable man in every respect, whose influence still resonates to this very day.

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