Janet Reno

By Tom Kirvan

The first woman to serve as attorney general of the United States, Janet Reno was known for her integrity, candor, and bluntness, once remarking that “nothing can make me madder than lawyers who don’t care about others.”

Born on July 21, 1938, in Miami, Reno cast an imposing 6-foot, 1-inch figure over the Department of Justice, becoming the longest serving attorney general in history during the two terms of the Clinton presidency.

Not long after taking office in 1993, Reno had to deal with the aftermath of a deadly federal raid on the compound of the Branch Davidians religious cult in Waco, Texas, where 76 lives were lost in a massive fire. In a televised news conference, Reno accepted full responsibility for the tragedy, stating that she approved the FBI’s plan to use tear gas in hopes of ending the 51-day standoff.

Reno later called the day of the fire – April 19, 1993 – the worst of her life, a reality compounded two years to the day later when a radicalized Army veteran, Timothy McVeigh, carried out the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in an act of retaliation.

Janet Reno*

Reno studied chemistry at Cornell University in New York, planning to pursue a career in medicine. But after receiving her bachelor’s degree from the Ivy League school, she decided to shift gears, enrolling in law school at Harvard University in Massechessets. She was one of just 16 women in a class of 500 entering students, helping blaze a trail for females interested in pursuing a legal career despite the disdain expressed by Harvard Law Dean Erwin Griswold, who told Reno and her classmates, “I don’t know what you are going to do with your law school education.”

After working in private practice for several years, Reno began her public service career as staff director of the Judiciary Committee of the Florida House of Representatives. In 1978, she was appointed by Governor Reubin Askew as state attorney for Dade County, a job she held for 15 years before being named U.S. attorney general by President Bill Clinton.

“Just remember, strength and courage,” Reno said of her career arc. “If you stand on principle, you’ll never lose.”

Throughout her career, Reno worked to reform the criminal justice system, spearheading the creation of drug courts to encourage rehabilitation and to reduce criminal recidivism. She also was a strong proponent of providing education and health care to disadvantaged children in an effort to stem societal violence.

Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1995, Reno died in 2016 at the age of 78, noting during her health battle that “I made the decision long ago that to be afraid would be to diminish my life.”

*Department of Justice., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons