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Janet Reno

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Not to be confused with Ginette Reno.
Janet Reno
Janet Reno-us-Portrait.jpg
78th United States Attorney General
In office
March 11, 1993 – January 20, 2001
President Bill Clinton
Deputy Philip Heymann
Jamie Gorelick
Eric Holder
Preceded by William Barr
Succeeded by John Ashcroft
State's Attorney for Miami-Dade County, Florida
In office
1978–1993
Preceded by Richard Gerstein
Succeeded by Katherine Fernandez Rundle
Personal details
Born Janet Wood Reno
(1938-07-21)July 21, 1938
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Died November 7, 2016(2016-11-07) (aged 78)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Alma mater Cornell University (BS)
Harvard University (JD)
Signature

Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) served as the Attorney General of the United States from 1993 until 2001. 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 in U.S. history, after William Wirt.

Reno was born and raised in Miami, Florida. After leaving to attend Cornell University and Harvard Law School, she returned to Miami where she started her career at private law firms. Her first foray into government was as a staff member for the Judiciary Committee of the Florida House of Representatives. She then worked for the Dade County State Attorney's Office before returning to private practice. She was elected to the Office of State Attorney five times.

Early life

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.[1] Her father, Henry Olaf Reno (né Rasmussen), was an emigrant from Denmark and a reporter for the Miami Herald for 43 years.[1] Janet Reno had three younger siblings: Mark (died 2014); writer Robert Reno (1939–2012); and Maggy Hurchalla. The family moved to property near the Everglades when Reno was 8 years old, living in a house Reno's mother built.[2]

Reno attended public school in Miami-Dade County, Florida, where she was a debating champion, and was valedictorian at Coral Gables Senior High School. In 1956 she enrolled at Cornell University, where she majored in chemistry, became president of the Women's Self-Government Association, and earned her room and board. After graduating from Cornell, Reno enrolled at Harvard Law School, one of only 16 women in a class of 500 students.[3] She graduated from Harvard in 1963.[4]

Career

From 1963 to 1971 Reno worked as an attorney for two Miami law firms. In 1971, she joined the staff of the Judiciary Committee of the Florida House of Representatives.[5] The following year, Reno ran for a seat in Florida's state house. She did not win.[6] In 1973, she worked on a project to revise the state's system of rules and regulations for criminal procedures.[5] Later in the same year, she accepted a position with the Dade County State Attorney's Office led by Richard Gerstein.[7][6] Shortly after joining the office, Gerstein made Reno his chief assistant.[6] Reno did not try any cases during her time working for Gerstein.[6] She worked for the Judiciary Circuit, and left the state attorney's office in 1976 to become a partner in a private law firm, Steel, Hector & Davis.[7][6] Gerstein decided to retire in 1977, creating a vacancy with Florida governor Reubin Askew to appoint a successor.[6] Reno was one of two candidates Gerstein recommended to replace him.[6]

State Attorney

In January 1978, Governor Askew appointed Reno the State Attorney for Dade County (now called Miami-Dade County).[6] She was the first woman to serve as a state attorney in Florida.[6] She was elected to the Office of State Attorney in November 1978 and was returned to office by the voters four more times. Reno ran as a liberal, pro-choice democrat even though Miami-Dade was a conservative county.[8] Reno did not always face serious challengers, although in 1984 Cuban-American lawyer Jose Garcia-Pedrosa ran against Reno, and picked up the endorsement of the Miami Herald editorial board.[6] In spite of his support among Miami's Hispanic voters, Reno won the election decisively.[6]

The office she led included 95 attorneys and an annual caseload that included 15,000 felonies and 40,000 misdemeanors.[6] As state attorney, developed a reputation for ethical behavior, going so far as to purchase a car at sticker price to avoid the appearance of impropriety.[8]

Drug Court

She established a Drug Court which was later replicated in other parts of the country.[9] She worked actively in various 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.

McDuffie trial

In May 1980, Reno prosecuted five white policemen who were accused of beating a black insurance salesman, named Arthur McDuffie, to death.[10][11] The policemen were all acquitted.[10] During the resulting 1980 Miami riots, eighteen people were killed, with looters in Liberty City angrily chanting "Reno! Reno! Reno!"[10] Reno met with nearly all of her critics, and a few months later, she won reelection in a landslide.[10]

Child Abuse prosecutions

Main article: Day-care sex-abuse hysteria § Country Walk

During Reno's tenure as state attorney, she began what the PBS series Frontline described as a "crusade" against accused child abusers.[12] Reno "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."[13] 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."[13]

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[14] and sentenced to a prison sentence with a minimum of 165 years. 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.[13] 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."[13] 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".[13]

In 1989, as Florida state attorney, Reno pressed adult charges against 13-year-old Bobby Fijnje, who was accused of sexually molesting 21 children in his care during 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.[15][16] During the trial, the prosecution was unable to present any witnesses to the alleged abuse. After two years of investigation and trial, Fijnje was acquitted of all charges.[17][18]

U.S. Attorney General

President Clinton's Cabinet, 1993. The President is seated front right, with Vice President Al Gore seated front left.
Reno in the White House Rose Garden with Vice President Gore and President Clinton
Reno speaking at the 1998 National Peace Officers' Memorial Service

In 1993, during Bill Clinton's administration, Reno was nominated and confirmed as the first woman to serve as the United States Attorney General.[19] Both of his previous choices, Zoë Baird and Kimba Wood, faced problems because both had employed undocumented immigrants as nannies.[4] Reno remained Attorney General for the rest of Clinton's presidency, making her the longest-serving Attorney General since William Wirt in 1829.[4]

In 1994, Reno tasked the Justice Department with compiling a report on DNA exoneration. The science was still new at that point in time. Reno commissioned the report after reading about the exoneration of a death row inmate. She wanted to know how many cases existed like the one she read about and what the Department of Justice could learn from it. The resulting report concluded there was a strong possibility that many more wrongful convictions which could be cleared with DNA evidence existed. Reno changed policies on how to interview eye witnesses and laboratory protocols in response.[20]

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. (The standoff began on February 28, 1993, twelve days before Reno was installed as Attorney-General.) 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."[21] Reno publicly expressed her regret of the decision to storm the compound, and accepted full responsibility for the loss of life.[22]
  • Brought suit against the software company Microsoft for violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.[23] The Justice Department alleged Microsoft was bundling its browser with its operating system to decrease competition. The case was ultimately settled in 2001, after Reno's departure.[24]
  • Prosecution resulting in the conviction of 21 of the Montana Freemen after an 81-day armed standoff which ended without loss of life.[25]
  • Capture and conviction of Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber.[26][27]
  • Capture and conviction of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols for the Oklahoma City bombing.[26][27]
  • Capture and conviction of those who conducted the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, resulting in life-sentences of Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman and four conspirators.[27]
  • 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."[28]
  • The government's unsuccessful defense of the Communications Decency Act, which culminated in the Supreme Court decision Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union.
Reno looks on as Sen. Joe Biden speaks at the signing of the 1994 Biden Crime Bill

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.[32]

Activity after public service career

After her tenure as United States Attorney General and her unsuccessful gubernatorial bid, Reno toured the country giving speeches on topics relating to the criminal justice system. On March 31, 2006, she spoke at a criminology conference at the University of Pennsylvania. She stated that she believed 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 believed that too much money has been diverted away from the juvenile court system and 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 they reach adulthood.[33][34]

Reno was a founding member board of directors for the Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization which assists prisoners who may be exonerated through DNA testing, in 2004.[35][36] By 2013 she was Director Emeritus of the Board of Directors.[37]

In March 2008, Reno received the Council on Litigation Management's[38] 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.[39] 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."[40] 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 popular culture

In 2001, Reno appeared alongside Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live in the final installment of the recurring sketch "Janet Reno's Dance Party".[41] On a 2007 Super Bowl XLI TV commercial, Reno was among the guests at Chad Ochocinco's Super Bowl party.[42][43] Reno curated a compilation of old-time American songs performed by contemporary artists called the Song of America.[44] Reno worked with her niece's husband on the project, music producer Ed Pettersen. Reno said her goal with the project was to share music with her great-nieces and great-nephews.[45] In 2013, Reno voiced herself for the "Dark Knight Court" episode of The Simpsons.[46]

Personal life

Reno never married and did not have children.[43] In response to a 1998 Saturday Night Live sketch which portrayed her as lonely, former Justice Department public affairs director Carl Stern said, "Both in Florida and in Washington she has a great many friends whose homes she visits, and she goes to plays, her dance card is full.”[47] Reno took Spanish lessons during her time as state attorney.[6]

Death

Reno was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1995, from which she died on November 7, 2016. She was surrounded by friends and family at the end of her life, including her sister Maggy and her goddaughter.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b "Janet Reno: From Waco to Elian". BBC News. April 14, 2000. 
  2. ^ Hulse, Carl (2016-11-07). "Janet Reno, First Woman to Serve as U.S. Attorney General, Dies at 78". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-11-08. 
  3. ^ a b Anderson, Curt (November 7, 2016). "Janet Reno, Former US Attorney General, Dies at Age 78". ABC News. Retrieved 2016-11-08. 
  4. ^ a b c "Former US attorney general Janet Reno dies at 78". Fox News Channel. November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016. 
  5. ^ a b c "Janet Reno Biography - life, family, children, school, mother, young, old, information, born, house". notablebiographies.com. Retrieved November 7, 2016. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Weaver, Jay (November 7, 2016). "How Janet Reno handled and bounced back from the biggest cases in her life". miamiherald. Retrieved December 10, 2017. 
  7. ^ a b "After Rocky Start, Reno is Rock Solid". Miami Herald. 
  8. ^ a b Zorthian, Julia. "How Janet Reno Got Her Start". Time. Retrieved October 20, 2017. 
  9. ^ Driscoll, Amy; Weaver, Jay; Brecher, Elinor J. (November 7, 2016). "Janet Reno, former Miami-Dade state attorney and U.S. attorney general, dies at 78". miamiherald. Retrieved October 20, 2017. 
  10. ^ a b c d Jane Mayer (December 1, 1997). "Janet Reno, Alone". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 28, 2016. 
  11. ^ Smiley, David (May 16, 2015). "McDuffie riots: revisiting, retelling story — 35 years later". miamiherald. Retrieved December 10, 2017. 
  12. ^ Transcript of Frontline episode "Did Daddy Do It", PBS (April 25, 2002)
  13. ^ a b c d e Editorial (2002-04-28) Reno owes the public answers, St. Petersburg Times
  14. ^ Collins, Glen (December 14, 1986). "Nightmare in Country Walk". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2008. Mr. Fuster was convicted of molesting the children entrusted to his wife's care in their home in the middle-class Dade County suburb of Country Walk, a planned development that was intended to be an idyllic refuge from the anxieties of urban Miami. 
  15. ^ "Interviews - Dr. Stephen Ceci | The Child Terror". Frontline. PBS. Retrieved January 29, 2015. 
  16. ^ "IPT Journal - Book Review - "Witch Hunt: A True Story of Social Hysteria and Abused Justice"". Ipt-forensics.com. April 15, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2015. 
  17. ^ "Bobby Fijnje - Interview | The Child Terror". Frontline. PBS. May 5, 1991. Retrieved January 29, 2015. 
  18. ^ "Bobby Fijnje - Fijnje Jury's Letter To Janet Reno | The Child Terror". Frontline. PBS. May 9, 1991. Retrieved January 29, 2015. 
  19. ^ "Biographies of the Attorneys General". Justice.gov. Retrieved May 28, 2011. 
  20. ^ Dwyer, Jim (November 10, 2016). "Janet Reno Was Unafraid of Science That Could Exonerate the Innocent". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 23, 2017. 
  21. ^ Rosenbloom III, Joe (October 17, 1995). "Waco: More than Simple Blunders?". The Wall Street Journal. PBS.org. Retrieved June 16, 2010. 
  22. ^ "Janet Reno | United States attorney general". Encyclopædia Britannica. November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016. 
  23. ^ Brinkley, Joel (April 4, 2000). "U.S. VS. MICROSOFT: THE OVERVIEW; U.S. JUDGE SAYS MICROSOFT VIOLATED ANTITRUST LAWS WITH PREDATORY BEHAVIOR". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 7, 2016. 
  24. ^ McLaughlin, Eliott C. (November 7, 2016). "Janet Reno's career punctuated by highs, lows". CNN. Retrieved June 11, 2017. 
  25. ^ "81-day Freemen Standoff Ends Without Bloodshed". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved November 7, 2016. 
  26. ^ a b "Washingtonpost.com: Politics -- The Administration, Janet Reno". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 7, 2016. 
  27. ^ a b c Blau, Max. "Janet Reno, first female US attorney general, dies". CNN. Retrieved November 7, 2016. 
  28. ^ "Reno to Jewell: 'I regret the leak'". July 31, 1997. 
  29. ^ "BBC News | Americas | Fugitive charged with Atlanta bombing". BBC. Retrieved November 7, 2016. 
  30. ^ globalreach.com, Global Reach Internet Productions, LLC - Ames, IA -. "Janet Reno - JAS". justiceatstake.org. Retrieved November 7, 2016. 
  31. ^ "CONTEMPT?". PBS. August 6, 1998. 
  32. ^ Roig-Franzia, Manuel (September 18, 2002). "Reno Concedes Defeat in Fla. Primary". The Washington Post. 
  33. ^ "Department of Criminology News". University of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2008. 
  34. ^ Simon, Stephanie (April 3, 2006). "Reno: Focus on science of preventing crimes". Daily Pennsylvanian. 
  35. ^ "About Us: Board of Directors". Innocenceproject.org. The Innocence Project. Archived from the original on February 17, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2015. 
  36. ^ Salizar, Carlita (November 7, 2016). "In Memoriam: The Honorable Janet Reno". Innocence Project. Retrieved June 23, 2017. 
  37. ^ "Tune In: Innocence Project Board of Directors' Director Emeritus Janet Reno on "The Simpsons" - Innocence Project". Innocence Project. March 15, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2017. 
  38. ^ "Council on Litigation Management". Litmgmt.org. Retrieved May 28, 2011. 
  39. ^ "Former Attorney General to Receive National Award"[permanent dead link] AJS Media Release. January 15, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
  40. ^ Palazzolo, Joe (April 17, 2009). "Holder to Present Reno with AJS's Justice Award". The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. Retrieved April 18, 2009. 
  41. ^ "SNL Archives | Impression". SNL.jt.org. January 20, 2001. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2011. 
  42. ^ "Chad Johnson's Super Bowl Party – NFL – Viral Videos". Spike.com. February 4, 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2011. 
  43. ^ a b Hanes, Stephanie (November 7, 2016). "Janet Reno, former U.S. attorney general, dies at 78". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 7, 2016. 
  44. ^ "Pitchfork: Devendra, Andrew Bird, Danielson on Janet Reno Comp". June 26, 2007. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2011. 
  45. ^ "Reno Collects the History of America Through Song". NPR.org. July 6, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2017. 
  46. ^ "Janet Reno". TVGuide.com. Retrieved November 7, 2016. 
  47. ^ Izadi, Elahe (2016-11-07). "How Janet Reno came to embrace Will Ferrell's absurd SNL impression". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-11-08. 

Sources

External links

Legal offices
Preceded by
William Barr		 United States Attorney General
1993–2001		 Succeeded by
John Ashcroft
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Janet_Reno&oldid=814819934"