Carnita McKeithen

Assistant Public Defender, Supervisor

Carnita holds a B.S. in Psychology 2001 and J.D. from University of Tennessee 2006. Carnita began her career as an associate for a small boutique firm located in Knoxville, Tennessee. Then Carnita returned to her native city of Memphis to work as a Western District of Tennessee Federal clerk for the now Judge Bernice Donald, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Following her clerkship, she served as the Juvenile Justice, Termination and Administrative Hearings Attorney for the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services before embarking on a five-year solo law practice. Later she closed her practice in 2016 and now serves as the Youth Trial Division Supervisor for the children of Shelby County as a Public Defender. Carnita is a member of the Central Juvenile Defender Center, “CJDC”, Advisory Council, and a certified Juvenile Training Immersion Program “JTIP” trainer for National Juvenile Defender Center. The CJDC focuses on juvenile law issues in Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee. In addition to the many things she has done professionally, Carnita serves the community through Life Church and its Outreach through the Memphis Dream Center and has served on the National and International Mission fields.