Janet Reno

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

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

Early life and career

Reno was born in Miami, Florida. Reno's mother, Jane Wallace (née Wood), raised her children and then became an investigative reporter for the Miami News.^[2] Her father, Henry Olaf Reno (original surname Rasmussen), was an emigrant from Denmark, who, for 43 years, was a police reporter for the Miami Herald.^[2] Janet Reno has three younger siblings: Mark, Robert (a writer; 1939-2012), and Maggy Hurchalla.

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, became president of the Women's Self-Government Association, and earned her room and board. After Cornell, Reno enrolled at Harvard University Law School and graduated in 1963. From 1963 to 1971 Reno worked as an attorney for two Miami law firms. She 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 Attorney's Office. She worked for the Judiciary Circuit, and left the state attorney's office in 1976 to become a partner in a private law firm.^[3]

State Attorney

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. In addition to her official duties, she worked actively in many civic organizations including the Miami Coalition for a Safe and Drug Free Community and the Beacon Council, which was formed to address Miami-Dade's economic development. During her tenure as state attorney, Reno began what the PBS series Frontline described as a "crusade" against accused child abusers.^[4] An editorial in the St. Petersburg Times argued:

"Reno's reputation as a state attorney, the foundation for her eight years as the nation's attorney general and her [2002] candidacy for governor of Florida, was built in significant part by her aggressive prosecution of three sensational child abuse cases in Miami-Dade County. She pioneered a controversial technique for eliciting intimate details from young children and inspired passage of a law allowing them to testify by closed-circuit television, out of the possibly intimidating presence of their suspected molesters."^[5]

Several of those prosecuted by Reno were either acquitted or later released by appellate judges. One defendant, "a 14-year-old boy, was acquitted after his attorneys discredited the children's persistent interrogations by a psychologist who called herself the 'yucky secrets doctor.' Another was freed by a federal appeals court after 12 years in prison."^[5]

Country Walk

In 1984, Frank Fuster, the owner of the Country Walk Babysitting Service, in a suburb of Miami, Florida, was found guilty of 14 counts of abuse.^[6] He was sentenced to a prison sentence with a minimum of 165 years. Fuster's victims testified that his "unspeakable acts" included leading them in Satanic rituals and terrorizing them by forcing them to watch him mutilate birds, a lesson to children who might reveal the abuse.^[6] Fuster had been previously convicted for manslaughter and for fondling a 9-year-old child.^[7] Testimony from children in the case was extracted by Laurie and Joseph Braga, a husband-and-wife team who resorted to coercive questioning of the alleged victims when the desired answers were not forthcoming.^[8]

Fuster was convicted based in large part on the testimony of his 18-year-old wife, Ileana Flores, who pleaded guilty and testified against him.^[5] According to a 2002 episode of Frontline, Flores maintained that "he was innocent, she was innocent and that she was coerced by Reno and others into denouncing her husband. She said she was kept naked in a suicide watch cell and given cold showers and that Reno visited her late at night in pursuit of her confession and damning testimony."^[5] Reno, then a candidate for Governor of Florida, refused to discuss her role in the case, leading one editorial to claim that she was "stonewalling."^[5]

Bobby Fijnje

In 1989, as Florida state attorney, Janet Reno pressed adult charges against a 13-year-old youth, Bobby Fijnje, accused of sexually molesting 21 children in his care during Presbyterian church services. The charges were driven by the testimony of children interviewed by mental health professionals using techniques later discredited as a contemporary version of witch hunts.^[9][10] During the trial, the prosecution was unable to present any witnesses to the alleged abuse. The trial cost taxpayers in excess of $3 million.^[11] After two years of investigation and trial, Fijnje was acquitted of all charges at which point he and his family moved to Holland.^[12]

And after the trial, Janet Reno received a letter from the jury. The jurors in the Fijnje case wanted Ms. Reno to know why her office had failed to make a convincing case. They wrote: 'It is our hope that this case will lay the foundation upon which a set of policies and guidelines are built so that when cases of abuse, especially child abuse, are alleged, the programs in place will allow for appropriate questioning and investigation by the police, physicians and child psychologists so as to drastically reduce the chances of conflicting testimony and charges of contamination that can and will raise reasonable doubt.'^[13]

U.S. Attorney General

In 1993 during the Clinton administration, Reno was nominated and confirmed as the first woman to serve as the United States Attorney General. Both of his previous choices, Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood, had problems when it was revealed both had 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.

At the Justice Department

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

• The 51 day Waco siege standoff and resulting 76 deaths—the Branch Davidians—in Waco, Texas.

Reno in congressional testimony stated that she authorized the FBI assault on the Branch Davidians because of reports that Militia groups were en route to Waco during the standoff "either to help [Branch Davidian leader David] Koresh or to attack him."^[14]

• 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 four 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."^[15]
• 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. Rudolph was apprehended in 2003 and pleaded guilty to the attacks.
• Capture and conviction of Mir Aimal Kasi for the 1993 shootings at CIA Headquarters.
• 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 a 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. Reno made the decision to remove Elián González from the house of a relative and instructed law enforcement officials to determine the best time to obtain the boy.
• 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.^[16] 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.

In 1995, while serving as Attorney General, Reno announced that she was suffering from Parkinson's disease.^[17]

Post-political life

Reno ran for Governor of Florida in 2002, but lost in the Democratic primary to Bill McBride 44% to 44.4%. Voting problems arose in the election, and she did not concede defeat until a week later.^[18] She has since retired from public service but frequently makes guest appearances for Democratic and other political causes.

After her tenure as attorney general and her unsuccessful gubernatorial 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 United States 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.^[19][20]

In 2001, Reno appeared alongside Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live in the final installment of the recurring sketch "Janet Reno's Dance Party".^[21] 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.^[22]

Reno is also curating a compilation of old-time American songs performed by contemporary artists called the Song of America.^[23]

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.^[24]

In March 2008, Reno received the Council on Litigation Management's^[25] Professionalism Award, which recognizes and commemorates an individual who has demonstrated the unique ability to lead others by example in the highest standard of their profession.

On April 17, 2009, Reno was awarded the Justice Award by the American Judicature Society.^[26] Eric Holder, 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."^[27] The award is the highest given by the AJS, and recognizes significant contributions toward improvements in the administration of justice within the United States.

In 2013, Reno voiced herself for the "Dark Knight Court" episode of The Simpsons.

Sources

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

References

Legal offices
Preceded by William Barr	U.S. Attorney General Served under: Bill Clinton 1993–2001	Succeeded by John Ashcroft

United States Attorneys General Randolph Bradford Lee Lincoln Breckinridge Rodney Pinkney Rush Wirt Berrien Taney Butler Grundy Gilpin Crittenden Legaré Nelson Mason Clifford Toucey Johnson Crittenden Cushing Black Stanton Bates Speed Stanbery Evarts Hoar Akerman Williams Pierrepont Taft Devens MacVeagh Brewster Garland Miller Olney Harmon McKenna Griggs Knox Moody Bonaparte Wickersham McReynolds Gregory Palmer Daugherty Stone Sargent W D Mitchell Cummings Murphy Jackson Biddle T C Clark McGrath McGranery Brownell Rogers Kennedy Katzenbach W R Clark J N Mitchell Kleindienst Richardson Saxbe Levi Bell Civiletti Smith Meese Thornburgh Barr Reno Ashcroft Gonzales Mukasey Holder Lynch

Cabinet of President Bill Clinton (1993–2001)   Cabinet Secretary of State Warren M. Christopher (1993–1997) Madeleine Albright (1997–2001) Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Bentsen (1993–1994) Robert Rubin (1995–1999) Larry Summers (1999–2001) Secretary of Defense Les Aspin (1993–1994) William J. Perry (1994–1997) William S. 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 (1995–2001) Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown (1993–1996) Mickey Kantor (1996–1997) William M. Daley (1997–2000) Norman Mineta (2000–2001) Secretary of Labor Robert Reich (1993–1997) Alexis M. Herman (1997–2001) Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala (1993–2001) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry G. Cisneros (1993–1997) Andrew M. 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 Education Richard W. Riley (1993–2001) Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jesse Brown (1993–1997) Togo West (1998–2000) * Acting secretary   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 M. Browner (1993–2001) Ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright (1993–1997) Bill Richardson (1997–1998) Richard C. Holbrooke (1999–2001) Director of the Office of Management and Budget Leon Panetta (1993–1994) Alice Rivlin (1994–1996) Franklin D. Raines (1996–1998) Jack Lew (1998–2001) Director of National Drug Control Policy Lee P. 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 L. Witt (1993–2001)* Director of Central Intelligence R. James Woolsey, Jr. (1993-1995) John M. Deutch (1995–1996) George Tenet (1997–2001) Chairperson of the Council of Economic Advisers Laura Tyson (1993-1995) Joseph Stiglitz (1995-1997) Janet Yellen (1997-1999) Martin Neil Baily (1999-2001) Administrator of the Small Business Administration Philip Lader (1994–1997) Aída M. Álverez (1997–2001) * took office in 1993, raised to cabinet-rank in 1996

Florida Women's Hall of Fame administered by the Florida Commission on the Status of Women   1980–1989 1982 Mary McLeod Bethune Helene S. Coleman Elaine Gordon Wilhelmina Celeste Goehring Harvey Paula Mae Milton Barbara Jo Palmer 1984 Roxcy O’Neal Bolton Barbara Landstreet Frye Lena B. Smithers Hughes Zora Neale Hurston Sybil Collins Mobley Helen Muir Gladys Pumariega Soler Julia DeForest Sturtevant Tuttle 1986 Annie Ackerman Rosemary Barkett Gwendolyn Sawyer Cherry Dorothy Dodd Marjory Stoneman Douglas Elsie Jones Hare Elizabeth McCullough Johnson Frances Bartlett Kinne Arva Moore Parks McCabe Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Florence Barbara Seibert Marilyn K. Smith Eartha M. M. White   1990–1999 1992 Jacqueline Cochran Carrie P. Meek Ruth Bryan Owen 1993 Betty Skelton Frankman Erde Paulina Pedroso Janet Reno 1994 Nikki Beare Betty Mae Jumper Gladys Nichols Milton 1995 Evelyn Stocking Crosslin JoAnn Hardin Morgan Sarah Brooks Pryor 1996 Marjorie Harris Carr Betty Castor Ivy Julia Cromartie Stranahan 1997 Alicia Baro Carita Doggett Corse M. Athalie Range 1998 Helen Gordon Davis Mattie Belle Davis Christine Fulwylie-Bankston 1999 Althea Gibson Sister Jeanne O’Laughlin Dessie Smith Prescott   2000–2009 2000 Chris Evert Paula Fickes Hawkins Marianne Mathewson-Chapman 2001 Jessie Ball duPont Lenore Carrero Nesbitt Lynda Keever 2002 Victoria Joyce Ely Toni Jennings Frances Langford Stuart 2003 Sarah Ann Blocker Gloria Estefan Mary R. Grizzle 2004/2005 Shirley D. Coletti Judith Kersey Marion Hammer 2005/2006 Caridad Asensio Tillie Kidd Fowler Lucy W. Morgan 2006/2007 Maryly VanLeer Peck Peggy A. Quince 2007/2008 Barbara J. Pariente Pallavi Patel Ileana Ros-Lehtinen 2008/2009 Louise H. Cortelis Gwen Margolis Betty Schlesinger Sembler 2009/2010 Eugenie Clark Claudine Dianne Ryce Dara Grace Torres   2010–2019 2010/2011 Mary Brennan Karl Anna I. Rodriguez 2011/2012 Ruth H. Alexander Elizabeth "Budd" Bell Vicki Bryant Burke 2012/2013 Clara C. Frye Aleene Pridgen Kidd MacKenzie Lillie Pierce Voss 2013/2014 Susan Benton Louise Jones Gopher Dottie Berger MacKinnon 2014/2015 Mary Lee Farrior Evelyn Cahn Keiser Charlotte Edwards Maguire

National Women's Hall of Fame   1970–1979 1973 Jane Addams Marian Anderson Susan B. Anthony Clara Barton Mary McLeod Bethune Elizabeth Blackwell Pearl S. Buck Rachel Carson Mary Cassatt Emily Dickinson Amelia Earhart Alice Hamilton Helen Hayes Helen Keller Eleanor Roosevelt Florence Sabin Margaret Chase Smith Elizabeth Cady Stanton Helen Brooke Taussig Harriet Tubman 1976 Abigail Adams Margaret Mead Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias 1979 Dorothea Dix Juliette Gordon Low Alice Paul Elizabeth Bayley Seton   1980–1989 1981 Margaret Sanger Sojourner Truth 1982 Carrie Chapman Catt Frances Perkins 1983 Belva Lockwood Lucretia Mott 1984 Mary "Mother" Harris Jones Bessie Smith 1986 Barbara McClintock Lucy Stone Harriet Beecher Stowe 1988 Gwendolyn Brooks Willa Cather Sally Ride Ida B. Wells-Barnett   1990–1999 1990 Margaret Bourke-White Barbara Jordan Billie Jean King Florence B. Seibert 1991 Gertrude Belle Elion 1993 Ethel Percy Andrus Antoinette Blackwell Emily Blackwell Shirley Chisholm Jacqueline Cochran Ruth Colvin Marian Wright Edelman Alice Evans Betty Friedan Ella Grasso Martha Wright Griffiths Fannie Lou Hamer Dorothy Height Dolores Huerta Mary Jacobi Mae Jemison Mary Lyon Mary Mahoney Wilma Mankiller Constance Baker Motley Georgia O'Keeffe Annie Oakley Rosa Parks Esther Peterson Jeannette Rankin Ellen Swallow Richards Elaine Roulet Katherine Siva Saubel Gloria Steinem Helen Stephens Lillian Wald Madam C. J. Walker Faye Wattleton Rosalyn S. Yalow Gloria Yerkovich 1994 Bella Abzug Ella Baker Myra Bradwell Annie Jump Cannon Jane Cunningham Croly Catherine East Geraldine Ferraro Charlotte Perkins Gilman Grace Hopper Helen LaKelly Hunt Zora Neale Hurston Anne Hutchinson Frances Wisebart Jacobs Susette La Flesche Louise McManus Maria Mitchell Antonia Novello Linda Richards Wilma Rudolph Betty Bone Schiess Muriel Siebert Nettie Stevens Oprah Winfrey Sarah Winnemucca Fanny Wright 1995 Virginia Apgar Ann Bancroft Amelia Bloomer Mary Breckinridge Eileen Collins Elizabeth Hanford Dole Anne Dallas Dudley Mary Baker Eddy Ella Fitzgerald Margaret Fuller Matilda Joslyn Gage Lillian Moller Gilbreth Nannerl O. Keohane Maggie Kuhn Sandra Day O'Connor Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin Patricia Schroeder Hannah Greenebaum Solomon 1996 Louisa May Alcott Charlotte Anne Bunch Frances Xavier Cabrini Mary A. Hallaren Oveta Culp Hobby Wilhelmina Cole Holladay Anne Morrow Lindbergh Maria Goeppert-Mayer Ernestine Louise Potowski Rose Maria Tallchief Edith Wharton 1998 Madeleine Albright Maya Angelou Nellie Bly Lydia Moss Bradley Mary Steichen Calderone Mary Ann Shadd Cary Joan Ganz Cooney Gerty Cori Sarah Grimké Julia Ward Howe Shirley Ann Jackson Shannon Lucid Katharine Dexter McCormick Rozanne L. Ridgway Edith Nourse Rogers Felice Schwartz Eunice Kennedy Shriver Beverly Sills Florence Wald Angelina Grimké Weld Chien-Shiung Wu   2000–2009 2000 Faye Glenn Abdellah Emma Smith DeVoe Marjory Stoneman Douglas Mary Dyer Sylvia A. Earle Crystal Eastman Jeanne Holm Leontine T. Kelly Frances Oldham Kelsey Kate Mullany Janet Reno Anna Howard Shaw Sophia Smith Ida Tarbell Wilma L. Vaught Mary Edwards Walker Annie Dodge Wauneka Eudora Welty Frances E. Willard 2001 Dorothy H. Andersen Lucille Ball Rosalynn Carter Lydia Maria Child Bessie Coleman Dorothy Day Marian de Forest Althea Gibson Beatrice A. Hicks Barbara Holdridge Harriet Williams Russell Strong Emily Howell Warner Victoria Woodhull 2002 Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis Ruth Bader Ginsburg Katharine Graham Bertha Holt Mary Engle Pennington Mercy Otis Warren 2003 Linda G. Alvarado Donna de Varona Gertrude Ederle Martha Matilda Harper Patricia Roberts Harris Stephanie L. Kwolek Dorothea Lange Mildred Robbins Leet Patsy Takemoto Mink Sacagawea Anne Sullivan Sheila E. Widnall 2005 Florence Ellinwood Allen Ruth Fulton Benedict Betty Bumpers Hillary Rodham Clinton Rita Rossi Colwell Mother Marianne Cope Maya Y. Lin Patricia A. Locke Blanche Stuart Scott Mary Burnett Talbert 2007 Eleanor K. Baum Julia Child Martha Coffin Pelham Wright Swanee Hunt Winona LaDuke Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Judith L. Pipher Catherine Filene Shouse Henrietta Szold 2009 Louise Bourgeois Mildred Cohn Karen DeCrow Susan Kelly-Dreiss Allie B. Latimer Emma Lazarus Ruth Patrick Rebecca Talbot Perkins Susan Solomon Kate Stoneman   2010–2019 2011 St. Katharine Drexel Dorothy Harrison Eustis Loretta C. Ford Abby Kelley Foster Helen Murray Free Billie Holiday Coretta Scott King Lilly Ledbetter Barbara A. Mikulski Donna E. Shalala Kathrine Switzer 2013 Betty Ford Ina May Gaskin Julie Krone Kate Millett Nancy Pelosi Mary Joseph Rogers Bernice Sandler Anna Schwartz Emma Willard 2015 Tenley Albright Nancy Brinker Martha Graham Marcia Greenberger Barbara Iglewski Jean Kilbourne Carlotta Walls LaNier Philippa Marrack Mary Harriman Rumsey Eleanor Smeal

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