Reno speech to open cyber crime conference at U. Mississippi

Bryan Doyle
University Wire
09-20-2004
(Daily Mississippian) (U-WIRE) OXFORD, Miss. -- Janet Reno, longest-serving U.S. attorney general of the 20th century will be at the University of Mississippi to deliver a speech Tuesday morning at 9:30 at the Gertrude Ford Center for Performing Arts.

Her speech is titled "The Justice System: National Security, Wrongful Convictions and Sentencing" and will serve as the keynote address for the Advanced Cyber Crime Training Conference.

The National Center for Justice and the Rule of Law will sponsor the three-day conference, which will serve as a training program for attorneys general from across the nation.

The conference is supported by the National Association of Attorneys General and will train attendees in the area of cyber crimes, which are crimes facilitated through the Internet, such as child pornography, Internet fraud and identification theft, according to Thomas Clancy, the director of the NCJRL.

"The Internet has allowed perpetrators of these crimes more access than they've ever had," he said. "These crimes are unbelievably prevalent."

Reno's experience as an attorney general is not the only impressive accomplishment on her resume, according to Samuel Davis, dean of the UM School of Law.

"Her experience as a trial lawyer, appellate lawyer and policy maker at the highest level in government brings real experience to the program," Davis said.

Janet Reno became the first woman to hold the position of attorney general when President Bill Clinton appointed her in 1993.

She served eight years, making her the longest-serving U.S. attorney general in modern times.

She also served as the chief prosecutor for Dade County, Fla., for nearly 20 years.

Reno's speech will address cyber crimes on a broad level, while experts in the field will explain specific training for attendees, Clancy said.

There will be three sessions of the Advanced Cyber Crimes Training Conference this year.

While Tuesday's conference will focus on online sexual predators, a session in November will address online option house fraud and a session in February will focus on the legal search and seizure of computers, Clancy said.

Clancy said it is very difficult to find and prosecute cyber criminals, since much of their work is through anonymity.

"The Internet is a powerful tool, but all tools are neutral," Clancy said. "It can be used for good or evil."

The NCJRL, funded through an agency in the State Justice Department and in its fourth year of existence within the law program, provides training for attorneys and appellate judges and focuses on issues relating to the criminal justice system.

Two hundred attorneys general have attended the training conference at the university over the past year.

Clancy said all students are invited and encouraged to attend Tuesday morning's address by Reno, whom he calls an important figure in law enforcement. The speech will last about one hour and is free to students.




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