From the September 2001 Idaho Observer:

Reno to lecture at U of I

Former U.S. AG to discuss problem solving, peacemaking; promote membership in ACS

MOSCOW -- As reported in the March, 2001 edition of The Idaho Observer, former attorney general Janet Reno will lecture at the University of Idaho main campus in Moscow, Idaho. The subject of Reno's presentation, which is a part of the Sherman J. Bellwood lecture series, will be “The Legal Profession as Problem Solvers and Peacemakers.”

Janet Reno was instrumental in negotiations that filled the Branch Davidians' home with CS gas that appears to have been ignited by federal agents, killing 86 men, women and children in 1993.

A quote from the promotional brochure mailed to U of I alumni describes Reno as follows: “Known for her integrity, independence, and respect for the rules of law and evidence, Ms. Reno worked intensively to bring “justice” to the Department of Justice. She used the authority of her office to enforce civil rights, environmental and health statutes with the same professionally innovative approaches that achieved conventional crime rate reductions throughout her tenure. Her courage, vision and dedication to both duty and principle are well known -- and have made her one of the country's most admired women.”

The former top lawyer will have a lot to share with U of I students as she is a founding member of a new political thinktank called the American Constitution Society. Among the organization's other founding members are Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe, former New York governor Mario Cuomo, and former Clinton White House counsel Abner Mikva. It has been reported that the ACS plans to organize chapters of its constitutionally-preoccupied society at law schools all over the nation U of I has a school of law.