Judge Patricia Keller was born and raised in Keyser. She has a 1980 bachelor’s degree in social welfare from Shepherd College (now University) and a 1983 law degree from West Virginia University College of Law.

Then-Gov. Bob Wise appointed her to the bench in the Sixth Family Court Circuit (Cabell County) in 2001. She was elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2008, 2016, and 2024. She presides over domestic relations hearings, including divorce, child custody, visitation, domestic violence and support, as well as modification and contempt matters.

Judge Keller serves on the Family Court Education Committee, where she is involved in planning continuing education conferences for family court judges. She has also done presentations for circuit court judges, law clerks, and attorneys statewide. Judge Keller serves on the Judicial Investigation Commission, which reviews ethics complaints against judges and determines whether probable cause exists to formally charge a judge. Prior to that, she served on the Judicial Hearing Board.

In addition to her family court duties, Judge Keller was instrumental in implementing drug courts in Cabell County. In her work with the adult drug court, Judge Keller was one of three women featured in the Oscar-nominated Netflix short documentary Heroin(e), which shows the struggle of those who attempt to break the cycle of addiction one life at a time.

As an attorney, she argued several cases in front of the West Virginia Supreme Court. 

Judge Keller is an adjunct instructor at West Virginia University, where she has taught graduate classes in the Master of Legal Studies Program since 1999. She teaches both Law and Society and Family Law.