Florida Governor Reubin Askew appointed Reno as Dade County State Attorney, the first woman to lead a county prosecutor's office in Florida.
On February 8, 1978, Florida Governor Reubin Askew appointed Janet Reno as State Attorney for Dade County (now Miami-Dade County), making her the first woman in Florida's history to head a county prosecutor's office.
The appointment was a landmark moment for women in the legal profession in the American South, a region where women prosecutors were exceedingly rare. Reno had built her reputation through years of work in the Florida legislature, where as staff director of the Judiciary Committee she helped revise the state's court system, and through subsequent work in the state attorney's office itself.
As State Attorney, Reno quickly distinguished herself by focusing on child welfare, domestic violence prosecution, and juvenile justice reform, areas often neglected by traditional prosecutorial offices. She built a reputation for integrity and tenacity that would carry her through four subsequent elected terms in the position spanning fifteen years.
This appointment represented the first crack in a significant glass ceiling within American law enforcement leadership, paving the way for future generations of women prosecutors and demonstrating that women could successfully lead major metropolitan legal institutions during an era of significant gender barriers in the profession.