Arlene Violet
| Arlene Violet | |
|---|---|
| 68th Attorney General of Rhode Island | |
|
In office 1985–1987 | |
| Governor | Edward D. DiPrete |
| Preceded by | Dennis J. Roberts II |
| Succeeded by | James E. O'Neil |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
1943 Providence, Rhode Island |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Providence College |
| Alma mater |
Salve Regina University Boston College Law School |
| Occupation | Nun, author, talk show host, and politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Arlene Violet (born 1943) was a nun in the Sisters of Mercy religious order[1] and Attorney General of Rhode Island 1985–1987. She was the first female Attorney General in the United States.[2] [3]
Biography
Arlene Violet was born into a middle class Republican voting[1] family in Providence, Rhode Island. After attending Providence College, she entered Sisters of Mercy convent in 1961, taking her final vows in 1969. Violet later earned a bachelor’s degree from Salve Regina University and was a school teacher in a disadvantaged neighborhood in the early 1970s. Becoming interested in law, she enrolled at Boston College Law School, graduating in 1974. During her schooling, she clerked in the judge’s chambers and did an internship in the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office. Due to financial difficulties at the convent, she left her legal work and returned to the convent, serving as an administrative nun through the early 1980s.[2]
In 1982 she ran unsuccessfully for Attorney General. But when she ran again in 1984, Violet won the election, becoming the first female attorney general in the United States.[2] During her time in office she focused on organized crime, environmental issues, and victim’s rights. One of her innovations was to use videotape interviews of child victims rather than direct testimony.[2] She also won recognition for reopening the Von Bülow case.[4] She lost her reelection bid in 1986 and her term ended.[5]
After leaving office, Violet returned to prosecuting, taught environmental law at Brown University, ran a talk show on WHJJ Radio from 1990 to 2006, and writes a weekly political column. She has written two books Convictions: My Journey from the Convent to the Courtroom (1988), an autobiography, and Me and the Mob (2010) a book about the witness protection program. She also drafted a manual on search seizure law.[2] She was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1996.[6]
She wrote a musical, The Family, A Musical Drama About the Mob, with composer and lyricist, Enrico Garzilli, which premiered by special arrangement with Trinity Repertory Company in Providence,RI in June 2011.
Notes and references
- 1 2 Butterfield, Fox (January 20, 1984). "Rhode Island Nun Quits Her Order to Run for Attorney General". New York City, New York: The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Weatherford, Doris (2012). Women in American Politics: History and Milestones. Los Angeles, California: CQ Press. pp. 76–77. ISBN 978-1-60871-007-2.
- ↑ Rutgers, Center for American Women And Politics (accessed 5/23/2007) Archived May 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Lawyers for Von Bulow Challenge Rhode Island on Trial Preparation". New York City, New York: The New York Times. May 22, 1985. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
- ↑ "State Fact Sheet - Rhode Island". Rutgers University, New Jersey: Eagleton Institute of Politics. 2015. Archived from the original on 28 December 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
- ↑ "Arlene Violet". Providence, Rhode Island: Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. 1996. Archived from the original on 27 December 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
Bibliography
- Weatherford, Doris (2012). Women in American Politics: History and Milestones. Los Angeles, California: CQ Press. ISBN 978-1-60871-007-2.