who was the first woman to serve as attorney general of the us?

by Dena Murray 4 min read

Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) was an American lawyer who served as the 78th United States attorney general under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 2001, the second-longest serving in that position, after William Wirt. A member of the Democratic Party, Reno was the first woman to hold the post.

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Janet Reno, who was the first woman to serve as U.S. attorney general but also became the epicenter of multiple political storms during the Clinton administration, died …

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Janet Reno, First Woman to Serve as US Attorney General, Dies

Janet Reno, the first woman to serve as U.S. attorney general and the epicenter of several political storms during the Clinton administration, has died. She was 78.

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As prosecutor, Reno built programs to help reform drug dealers and combat domestic violence. Another program strong-armed deadbeat dads into paying child support, inspiring a rap song named after her.

Who was Janet Reno?

The daughter of two journalists, Janet Reno was born in Miami, Florida in 1938.

How did Janet Reno become attorney general?

The Washington Post reports Janet Reno came to President Bill Clinton's attention through his brother-in-law Hugh Rodham, a public defender in Dade County, where Reno worked as a state attorney.

What is the United States attorney general?

The United States attorney general is head of the United States Department of Justice. He or she is the chief law enforcement officer and chief lawyer of the government, and can be removed by the president at any time.

Who was the first black woman to be appointed as Attorney General?

On this day, 21 st May 1959, a great African-American woman politician, full of charisma and leadership capabilities, Loretta Lynch, was born. Loretta Lynch , on 27 th April, 2015, entered the American historical records as the first black woman to be appointed as the U.S. Attorney General, under President Barack Obama’s administration. She was, however, serving as the 83 rd U.S. Attorney General, preceded by Attorney Eric Holder, and finally succeeded by Jeff Sessions (incumbent) of the ongoing President Trump’s administration, on 9 th February, 2017.

When was Lynch sworn in?

She was later sworn in on 27thApril, 2015 by the V. President Joe Biden. During her service at the Eastern District of New York as the U.S. Attorney, Lynch supervised the investigations on the senior FIFA officials from the early stages.

Who is Loretta Lynch married to?

Loretta Lynch is currently married to Stephen Hargrove, mothering two stepchildren from Hargrove’s previous marriage.

Who was the first woman to serve as Attorney General?

Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) was an American lawyer who served as the Attorney General of the United States from 1993 until 2001. President Bill Clinton nominated Reno on February 11, 1993, and the Senate confirmed her the following month. She was the first woman to serve as Attorney General and the second-longest serving ...

Who was the Attorney General of the United States in 1993?

In 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated Reno to serve as the United States Attorney General. Both of his previous choices, Zoë Baird and Kimba Wood, faced problems because both had employed undocumented immigrants as nannies.

What did Reno do in her 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. The following year, Reno unsuccessfully ran for a seat in Florida's state house. In 1973, she worked on a project to revise the state's system of rules and regulations for criminal procedures. Later in the same year, she accepted a position with the Dade County State Attorney's Office led by Richard Gerstein. Shortly after joining the office, Gerstein made Reno his chief assistant. Reno did not try any cases during her time working for Gerstein. 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. Gerstein decided to retire in 1977, creating a vacancy with Florida governor Reubin Askew to appoint a successor. Reno was one of two candidates Gerstein recommended to replace him.

How many capital punishment convictions did Reno have?

Although Reno personally opposed the death penalty, her office secured 80 capital punishment convictions during her tenure. None of these were executed during her tenure, but five were later executed.

Where was Janet Reno born?

Reno was born in Miami, Florida. Reno's mother, Jane Wallace (née Wood), wrote a weekly home improvement column for The Miami News under a male pseudonym and later became an investigative reporter for the paper. Janet's father, Henry Olaf Reno (né Rasmussen), was an emigrant from Denmark and a reporter for the Miami Herald for 43 years. Janet Reno had three younger siblings: Mark; writer Robert Reno; and Maggy Hurchalla. In 1943, the Reno family moved to a house in rural South Miami; it came with enough land to keep farm animals, including cows, chicken, ducks, goats, and turkeys. Reno helped her parents churn butter, which the family sold to make ends meet.

Who is Janet Reno?

Janet Reno. Not to be confused with Ginette Reno. Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) was an American lawyer who served as the Attorney General of the United States from 1993 until 2001. President Bill Clinton nominated Reno on February 11, 1993, and the Senate confirmed her the following month.

What was the Miami Method?

Reno pioneered the "Miami Method," "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." Bobby Fijnje, "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'." Grant Snowden was acquitted, retried, convicted, and eventually freed by a federal appeals court after 12 years in prison."

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Overview

Firsts nationwide

• Ada Kepley (1881): First woman to graduate with a law degree (1870) and practice in a court of law in the U.S.
• Charlotte E. Ray (1872): First African American female to earn a law degree in the U.S.
• Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin: First Native American (Chippewa) female to earn a law degree in the U.S. (1914)

Firsts in individual states

• List of first women lawyers and judges in Alabama
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Alaska
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Arizona
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Arkansas

Firsts in Washington, D.C. (Federal District)

• List of first women lawyers and judges in Washington D.C. (Federal District)

Firsts in the Territories of the U.S.

• List of first women lawyers and judges in the Territories of the U.S.

See also

• Timeline of women lawyers in the United States
• Women in law

Other topics of interest

• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States
• List of African American jurists [United States]
• List of Asian American jurists [United States]
• List of first women lawyers and judges by nationality [International]