Janet Reno

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Janet Wood Reno
78th United States Attorney General
In office March 11, 1993 – January 20, 2001
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	William Barr
Succeeded by	John Ashcroft
Born	July 21, 1938 (1938-07-21) (age 71) Miami, Florida, United States
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Cornell University Harvard Law School

Janet Wood Reno (born July 21, 1938) is the former Attorney General of the United States (1993–2001).^[1] She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on February 11, 1993, and confirmed on March 11. She was the first female Attorney General and the second longest serving Attorney General after William Wirt.

[edit] Early life and career

Reno's father, Henry Reno (original surname Rasmussen), immigrated to the United States from Denmark and for forty-three years was a police reporter for the Miami Herald.^[2] Jane Wood, Reno's mother, raised her children and then became an investigative reporter for the Miami News.^[2] Janet Reno has three younger siblings.

Reno attended public school in Miami-Dade County, Florida, where she was a debating champion and was valedictorian at Coral Gables High School. In 1956 Reno enrolled at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where she majored in chemistry,^[3] lived in Balch Hall, became president of the Women's Self-Government Association, and earned her room and board.

Reno enrolled at Harvard Law School in 1960, one of only sixteen women in a class of more than 500 students. She received her LL.B. from Harvard three years later.^[4]

Reno was named staff director of the Judiciary Committee of the Florida House of Representatives in 1971. She helped revise the Florida court system. In 1973 she accepted a position with the Dade County State's Attorney's Office. She left the state's attorney's office in 1976 to become a partner in a private law firm.^[5]

In 1978, Reno was appointed State Attorney for Dade County (now called Miami-Dade County). She was elected to the Office of State Attorney in November 1978 and was returned to office by the voters four more times. During this time, allegations about Reno's sexual orientation became a major part of Republican opponent Jack Thompson's campaign against her.^[6] He was repeatedly rebuffed by many critics due to this. She won the race with 69% of the vote. She helped reform the juvenile justice system and pursued delinquent fathers for child support payments and established the Miami Drug Court.^[7]

During her time in Dade County, she was the lead prosecutor in a police brutality case. She was unable to convict any of the four officers charged with beating Arthur McDuffie in 1979. Reno has been criticized for her prosecutions of alleged sexual abusers during this time, which have been described as a "crusade"^[8] involving the "manipulative questioning" of child witnesses.^[9] She was involved in the prosecution of Bobby Fijnje, a 14-year old accused of Satanic ritual abuse who was eventually acquitted.^[10]

In 1995, Reno was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.^[11]

[edit] Attorney General

In 1993, Reno was nominated and confirmed as the first female Attorney General under Bill Clinton, after both of his previous nominees, Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood, had confirmation problems when it was revealed both had previously employed illegal immigrants as nannies. Reno remained Attorney General for the rest of Clinton's presidency, making her the longest-serving Attorney General since William Wirt in 1829.

While Clinton could steer a middle ground between his Democratic supporters and the Republican Congress on monetary issues, Reno's job was at the center of a variety of intractable cultural conflicts. This made her a lightning rod for criticism of the Clinton Administration from activists who often denounced the federal government as a threat to their fundamental freedoms.

[edit] At the Justice Department

The following Department of Justice actions occurred during Reno's tenure:

• The 51 day standoff and resulting deaths of 76 men, women, and children--the Branch Davidians--in Waco, Texas.
• Bringing suit against the software company Microsoft for violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
• Prosecution resulting in the conviction of 21 of the Montana Freemen after an 81 day armed standoff.
• Capture and conviction of Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber.
• Capture and conviction of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols for the Oklahoma City bombing.
• Capture and conviction of those who conducted the World Trade Center bombing (resulting in life-sentences of Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman and 4 conspirators)
• Leak to the news media regarding Richard Jewell that led to the widespread and incorrect presumption of his guilt in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing. She later apologized, saying "I'm very sorry it happened. I think we owe him an apology. I regret the leak." ^[12]
• The government's unsuccessful defense of the Communications Decency Act, which culminated in the Supreme Court decision Reno v. ACLU.
• Identification of the correct suspect (Eric Rudolph) in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing and other bombings, who remained a fugitive throughout her tenure. Randolph was apprehended in 2003 and pleaded guilty to the attacks.
• Capture and conviction of Mir Aimal Kasi for the 1993 CIA headquarters shootings.
• The armed seizure of six-year-old Elián González and his return to his father, who eventually took him home to Cuba; Elián's mother and stepfather had died in dangerous trip by sea, and though his U.S. relatives had lost custody to his father in court, local officials did not enforce the ruling.
• In 1998, the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee voted to cite Reno for contempt of Congress for not turning over documents during the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.^[13] The full House of Representatives never voted on the resolution and the documents were turned over to the House.
• Her Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, David W. Ogden, led a lawsuit against the tobacco companies

[edit] Post-political life

Reno ran for Governor of Florida in 2002, but lost in the Democratic primary to Bill McBride. Voting problems arose in the election, and she did not concede defeat until a week later.^[14] She has since retired from public life but frequently makes guest appearances for Democratic and other political causes.

After her tenure as attorney general and her unsuccessful gubernatorial election bid, Reno tours the country giving speeches on topics relating to the criminal justice system. For example, on March 31, 2006, she spoke at a criminology conference held at the University of Pennsylvania. At this conference, she stated that she believes that the education system in the USA needs to be improved, as there is a link between the quality of education and the crime rate. She also believes that too much money has been diverted away from the juvenile court system and believes that the government should find some way to make the juvenile courts work effectively so as to prevent problems in troubled children and adolescents before these problems are exacerbated by the time these adolescents reach adulthood.^[15][16]

In 2001, Reno appeared alongside Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live in the final installment of the recurring sketch "Janet Reno's Dance Party".^[17] In another television appearance, on a 2007 Super Bowl XLI TV commercial, Janet Reno was among the guests at Chad Ochocinco's Super Bowl party.^[18]

Reno is also curating a compilation of old-time American songs performed by contemporary artists called the Song of America.^[19]

Reno also serves on the Board of Directors for the Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization which assists prisoners who could be exonerated through DNA testing.

On April 17, 2009, Reno was awarded the Justice Award by the American Judicature Society.^[20] Eric Holder, Jr, Attorney General under the Obama Administration, presented Reno the award. Seth Andersen, Executive Vice President of AJS said the award recognizes “her commitment to improving our systems of justice and educating Americans about our great common enterprise -- to ensure equality under the law.”^[21] The award is the highest given by the AJS, and recognizes significant contributions toward improvements in the administration of justice within the United States.

[edit] Sources

• This article incorporates text from the Department of Justice website, which is in the public domain.

[edit] See also

• Waco Siege

[edit] References

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v • d • e Cabinet of President Bill Clinton (1993 – 2001)   Cabinet Secretary of State Warren Christopher (1993 – 1997) • Madeleine Albright (1997 – 2001) Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Bentsen (1993 – 1994) • Robert Rubin (1995 – 1999) • Lawrence Summers (1999 – 2001) Secretary of Defense Les Aspin (1993 – 1994) • William Perry (1994 – 1997) • William Cohen (1997 – 2001) Attorney General Janet Reno (1993 – 2001) Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt (1993 – 2001) Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy (1993 – 1994) • Dan Glickman (1994 – 2001) Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown (1993 – 1996) • Mickey Kantor (1996 – 1997) • William Daley (1997 – 2000) • Norman Mineta (2000 – 2001) Secretary of Labor Robert Reich (1993 – 1997) • Alexis Herman (1997 – 2001) Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala (1993 – 2001) Secretary of Education Richard Riley (1993 – 2001) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros (1993 – 1997) • Andrew Cuomo (1997 – 2001) Secretary of Transportation Federico Peña (1993 – 1997) • Rodney Slater (1997 – 2001) Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary (1993 – 1997) • Federico Peña (1997 – 1998) • Bill Richardson (1998 – 2001) Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jesse Brown (1993 – 1997) • Togo West (1998 – 2000) • Hershel Gober (acting) (2000 – 2001)   Cabinet-level Vice President Al Gore (1993 – 2001) White House Chief of Staff Mack McLarty (1993 – 1994) • Leon Panetta (1994 – 1997) • Erskine Bowles (1997 – 1998) • John Podesta (1998 – 2001) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Carol Browner (1993 – 2001) Ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Korbel Albright (1993 – 1997) • Bill Richardson (1997 – 1998) • Richard Holbrooke (1999 – 2001) Director of the Office of Management and Budget Leon Panetta (1993 – 1994) • Alice Rivlin (1994 – 1996) • Franklin Raines (1996 – 1998) • Jacob Lew (1998 – 2001) Director of National Drug Control Policy Lee Brown (1993 – 1995) • Barry McCaffrey (1996 – 2001) Trade Representative Mickey Kantor (1993 – 1997) • Charlene Barshefsky (1997 – 2001) Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency James Lee Witt (1996 – 2001) Director of Central Intelligence John M. Deutch (1995 – 1996) • George Tenet (1997 - 2001) Administrator of the Small Business Administration Philip Lader (1994 – 1997) • Aída Álvarez (1997 - 2001)