John Christopher "Jack" Keeney (February 19, 1922 – November 19, 2011) was an American

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

who retired in 2010 as U.S. deputy

United States Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the adv ...

. At age 88, he was at the time the DOJ's oldest employee, and one of the longest-serving career employees in the history of the United States government. Upon his retirement, Keeney was the longest-serving

federal prosecutor An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

in American history. Keeney spent decades in the

United States Department of Justice Criminal Division The United States Department of Justice Criminal Division is a federal agency of the United States Department of Justice that develops, enforces, and supervises the application of all federal criminal laws in the United States. Criminal Divisi ...

, starting in 1951. On numerous occasions, Keeney served as Acting Assistant Attorney General. Keeney was born in

Ashley, Pennsylvania Ashley is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, from Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, Wilkes Barre. The population was 2,588 at the 2020 census. History Ashley was first settled in 1830. Forty years later, in 1870 ...

, on February 19, 1922. Keeney was a pilot in the Army Air Corps during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and was held by German forces as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

. Keeney graduated from the

University of Scranton The University of Scranton is a private Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was elevated to university status and took ...

in 1947. He received law degrees from

Dickinson School of Law Penn State Dickinson Law, formerly Dickinson School of Law, is a public law school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is one of two separately accredited law schools of Pennsylvania State University. History The Law School offers J.D. and LL.M. ...

in 1949 and from

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...

in 1953.

Honors

In 2000, the Justice Department named one of its buildings (1301 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.) after Keeney, an honor rarely bestowed on a living person. In the month following his death, the Justice Department created the John C. Keeney Award for Exceptional Integrity and Professionalism. The John C. Keeney Award recognizes a Justice Department employee who has demonstrated outstanding professionalism and integrity over a sustained period of time or an employee who has displayed extraordinary strength of character in a unique situation, as Mr. Keeney displayed during his years of service to the federal government.

Death

Keeney died on November 19, 2011, at his home in

Kensington, Maryland Kensington is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,122 at the 2020 United States census. Greater Kensington encompasses the entire 20895 ZIP Code, ZIP code, with a population of 1 ...

, aged 89.

References

External links

* * * 1922 births 2011 deaths People from Ashley, Pennsylvania American prosecutors United States Department of Justice officials American prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany University of Scranton alumni Dickinson School of Law alumni George Washington University Law School alumni United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II {{US-law-bio-stub