Janet Wood Reno is a former
Attorney GeneralThe United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
of the United States (1993–2001). She was nominated by
PresidentThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
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 WirtWilliam Wirt was an American author and statesman who is credited with turning the position of United States Attorney General into one of influence.-History:...
.
Early life and career
Reno's father, Henry Olaf Reno (original
surnameA surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
RasmussenThe surname Rasmussen is a Danish and Norwegian surname, meaning "Rasmus' son" . It is the ninth most common surname in Denmark, shared by about 1.9% of the population....
), emigrated to the United States from Denmark and for forty-three years was a police reporter for the
Miami Herald. Jane Wallace (née Wood), Reno's mother, raised her children and then became an investigative reporter for the
Miami News. Janet Reno has three younger siblings.
Reno attended public school in
Miami-Dade County, FloridaMiami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
, where she was a debating champion and was valedictorian at
Coral Gables High SchoolCoral Gables Senior High School is a secondary school located at 450 Bird Road in Coral Gables, Florida, USA.Coral Gables SHS opened its doors in 1950; its architectural design reflects a Spanish influence with its open courtyards adorned with water fountains...
. In 1956, Reno enrolled at
Cornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in
Ithaca, New YorkThe city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
, where she majored in
chemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, lived in
Balch HallBalch Hall is the only remaining all-female dormitory on the North Campus of Cornell University. Technically, Balch Hall consists of four eighty-student halls, hence the more accurate name the Balch Halls, which has fallen out of use. The dormitory is very large and usually has a very quiet,...
, became president of the Women's Self-Government Association, and earned her room and board.
After Cornell she enrolled at Harvard University Law School, graduating in 1963.
From 1963 to 1971 Reno worked as a lawyer for two Miami law firms.
Reno was named staff director of the Judiciary Committee of the
Florida House of RepresentativesThe Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The House is composed of 120 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 156,677.The House convenes at...
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 worked for the Judiciary Circuit, and left the state's attorney's office in 1976 to become a partner in a private law firm.
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. During her tenure as state attorney, Reno began what the
PBSThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series
Frontline described as a "crusade" against accused child abusers. According to the
St. Petersburg TimesThe St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
:
"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 abuseChild abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
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 televisionClosed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
, out of the possibly intimidating presence of their suspected molesters.
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
psychologistPsychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
who called herself the 'yucky secrets doctor.' Another was freed by a federal appeals court after 12 years in prison."
Country Walk
In 1984 Frank Fuster, the owner of the Country Walk Babysitting Service, in a suburb of
Miami, FloridaMiami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, was found guilty of 14 counts of abuse. 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
SatanicSatanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
rituals and terrorizing them by forcing them to watch him mutilate birds, a lesson to children who might reveal the abuse. Fuster had been previously convicted for
manslaughterManslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
and for fondling a 9 year old child. 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.
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. 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." Reno, then a candidate for Governor of Florida, refused to discuss her role in the case, leading to charges that she was "stonewalling" and exhibiting "arrogance of power, a trait that becomes less and less tolerable in inverse proportion to the importance and authority of the office sought."
Attorney General
In 1993, Reno was nominated and confirmed as the first female Attorney General under
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, after both of his previous choices,
Zoe BairdZoë Eliot Baird is an American lawyer who is president of the Markle Foundation. She is most known for her role in the Nannygate matter of 1993.-Biography:...
and
Kimba WoodKimba Maureen Wood is a United States federal judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.-Early life and education:...
, had problems
when it was revealed both had previously employed illegal immigrants as nanniesNannygate was a 1993 political controversy in the United States wherein the nomination of Zoë Baird, and near-nomination of Kimba Wood, for U.S. Attorney General were withdrawn due to the hiring of illegal aliens as nannies or the failure to pay taxes for them...
. Reno remained Attorney General for the rest of Clinton's presidency, making her the longest-serving Attorney General since
William WirtWilliam Wirt was an American author and statesman who is credited with turning the position of United States Attorney General into one of influence.-History:...
in 1829.
While Clinton could steer a middle ground between his
DemocraticThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
supporters and the
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
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 JusticeThe United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
actions occurred during Reno's tenure:
- The 51 day Waco siege
The Waco siege began on February 28, 1993, and ended violently 50 days later on April 19. The siege began when the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel, a property located east-northeast of Waco,...
standoff and resulting 76 deaths—the Branch Davidians—in Waco, TexasWaco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
.
- Reno in congressional testimony stated that she authorized the FBI assault on the Branch Davidians because of reports that Militia groups were enroute to Waco during the standoff "either to help [Branch Davidian leader David] Koresh or to attack him."
- Bringing suit
United States v. Microsoft was a set of civil actions filed against Microsoft Corporation pursuant to the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 Section 1 and 2 on May 8, 1998 by the United States Department of Justice and 20 U.S. states. Joel I. Klein was the lead prosecutor...
against the software company MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
for violation of the Sherman Antitrust ActThe Sherman Antitrust Act requires the United States federal government to investigate and pursue trusts, companies, and organizations suspected of violating the Act. It was the first Federal statute to limit cartels and monopolies, and today still forms the basis for most antitrust litigation by...
.
- Prosecution resulting in the conviction of 21 of the Montana Freemen
The Montana Freemen were a Christian Patriot movement based outside the town of Jordan, Montana. The members of the group referred to their land as "Justus Township" and had declared themselves no longer under the authority of any outside government...
after an 81 day armed standoff.
- Capture and conviction of Theodore Kaczynski
Theodore John "Ted" Kaczynski , also known as the "Unabomber" , is an American mathematician, social critic, anarcho-primitivist, and Neo-Luddite who engaged in a mail bombing campaign that spanned nearly 20 years, killing three people and injuring 23 others.Kaczynski was born in Chicago, Illinois,...
, the Unabomber.
- Capture and conviction of Timothy McVeigh
Timothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995...
and Terry NicholsTerry Lynn Nichols is a convicted bomber's accomplice. Prior to his incarceration, he held a variety of short-term jobs, working as a farmer, grain elevator manager, real estate salesman, ranch hand, and house husband. He met his future co-conspirator, Timothy McVeigh, during a brief stint in the...
for the Oklahoma City bombingThe Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
.
- 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
Richard A. Jewell was an American security guard who became known in connection with the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
that led to the widespread and incorrect presumption of his guilt in the Centennial Olympic Park bombingThe Centennial Olympic Park bombing was a terrorist bombing on July 27, 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States during the 1996 Summer Olympics, the first of four committed by Eric Robert Rudolph...
. She later apologized, saying "I'm very sorry it happened. I think we owe him an apology. I regret the leak."
- 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
Eric Robert Rudolph , also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is a criminal responsible for a series of bombings across the southern United States between 1996 and 1998, which killed two people and injured at least 150 others in the name of an anti-abortion and anti-gay agenda...
) in the Centennial Olympic Park bombingThe Centennial Olympic Park bombing was a terrorist bombing on July 27, 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States during the 1996 Summer Olympics, the first of four committed by Eric Robert Rudolph...
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
The custody and immigration status of a young Cuban boy, Elián González , was at the center of a heated 2000 controversy involving the governments of Cuba and the United States, González's father, Juan Miguel González Quintana, González's other relatives in Miami, Florida, and in Cuba, and Miami's...
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
Contempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of the United States Congress or one of its committees. Historically the bribery of a senator or representative was considered contempt of Congress...
for not turning over documents during the impeachment of PresidentThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. The full House of Representatives never voted on the resolution and the documents were turned over to the House.
- Her Assistant Attorney General
Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an Assistant Attorney General.The President of the United States appoints individuals to the position of Assistant Attorney General with the advice and consent of the Senate...
for the Civil Division, David W. OgdenDavid William Ogden , known professionally as David W. Ogden, is the former Deputy Attorney General of the United States...
, led a lawsuit against the tobacco companies
In 1995, while serving as Attorney General, Reno announced that she was suffering from
Parkinson's diseaseParkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
.
Post-political life
Reno ran for
Governor of Florida in 2002The 2002 Florida gubernatorial election took place on 5 November 2002 for the post of Governor of Florida. Incumbent Republican governor Jeb Bush defeated Democratic candidate Bill McBride...
, but lost in the Democratic primary to
Bill McBrideBill McBride is an American lawyer and politician.A Democrat, he challenged Jeb Bush for Florida governor in the 2002 gubernatorial election. Bush won 56-43 percent, making him the first Republican governor of Florida to serve two terms...
. Voting problems arose in the election, and she did not concede defeat until a week later. 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 PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
. 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 courtA juvenile court is a tribunal having special authority to try and pass judgments for crimes committed by children or adolescents who have not attained the age of majority...
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.
In 2001, Reno appeared alongside
Will FerrellJohn William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
on
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in the final installment of the recurring sketch "Janet Reno's Dance Party". In another television appearance, on a 2007
Super Bowl XLISuper Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
TV commercial, Janet Reno was among the guests at Chad Ochocinco's Super Bowl party.
Reno is also curating a compilation of old-time American songs performed by contemporary artists called the
Song of AmericaSong of America is a 3-disc, compilation album comprising 50 songs related to the history of America. Released on September 18, 2007 under Split Rock Records/Thirty One Tigers, the music collection was conceived by former U.S...
.
Reno also serves on the board of directors for the
Innocence ProjectAn Innocence Project is one of a number of non-profit legal organizations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand dedicated to proving the innocence of wrongly convicted people through the use of DNA testing, and to reforming the criminal justice systems to...
, a nonprofit organization which assists prisoners who could be exonerated through DNA testing.
In March 2008, Reno received the Council on Litigation Management's 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 SocietyThe American Judicature Society is an independent, nonpartisan, national organization of judges, lawyers, and interested members of the public whose mission is to improve the American justice system - to "secure and promote an independent and qualified judiciary and fair system of justice." ...
.
Eric HolderEric Himpton Holder, Jr. is the 82nd and current Attorney General of the United States and the first African American to hold the position, serving under President Barack Obama....
, 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." 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
Miami rappers
AnquetteAnquette is a Miami Bass female group from Miami, Florida, U.S.. They debuted with her answer version of the 2 Live Crew's "Throw the D", aptly named "Throw the P"...
dedicated a hit track to Janet Reno in 1989, stating
"In our town, we have a State Attorney by the name of Janet Reno. She locks brothers up for not paying their child support."
Richard Fish, a senior partner in Cage & Fish, the law firm on
Ally McBealAlly McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
, hits on an actress playing Janet Reno in episode 14 "Body Language" by fondling her neck.
Reno's role in the Elián González affair was parodied in the
South ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
episode "
QuintupletsQuintuplets is an American sitcom that aired twenty-two episodes on FOX from June 16, 2004 through January 12, 2005. The program starred Andy Richter and Rebecca Creskoff as parents of a family of quintuplets and their various adventures in parenthood....
".
Reno is mentioned in the song "Original Prankster" by
The OffspringThe Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Known as Manic Subsidal until 1986, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada...
.
Reno was portrayed by
Will FerrellJohn William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
on
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
.
In the American Dad episode "Iced Iced Babies" Francine is in a sperm bank, she says whilst searching for Smith "Regan...Rove...Rumsfeld...Reno... Janet Reno? That goes over here." Then alphabetises it.
Sources
- This article incorporates text from the Department of Justice website, which is in the public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
.