# Donovan W. Frank *United States district judge in Minnesota (born 1951)* Donovan Wayne Frank, born in 1951, sits as a senior judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Minnesota]].[^1][^2][^3] The court maintains a judge's page for him.[^1] Before President Bill Clinton nominated him to the federal bench in 1998, Frank worked as an assistant [[county attorney]] in St. Louis County. He then served as a state district court judge in [[Minnesota]]'s Sixth Judicial District, including five years as that court's Chief Judge.[^2][^3] Two State of Minnesota web pages on developmental disabilities are devoted to him: *Developmental Disabilities and Equal Justice Under the Law: Judge Donovan W. Frank* and *Judge Donovan Frank and the ADA Legacy Project*.[^5][^6] Mitchell Hamline School of Law lists him among its faculty and administration.[^7] ## Early life and education Frank's birthplace is Rochester, Minnesota.[^3] Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, awarded him a Bachelor of Arts in 1973.[^3] He earned his Juris Doctor in 1977 at Hamline University School of Law in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]].[^3] ## Career Frank's first legal post was assistant county attorney for St. Louis County.[^3] In 1985 he was appointed to the state district court bench of the Sixth Judicial District.[^3] On that court he was assistant chief judge from 1988 to 1991. He then served as Chief Judge from 1991 to 1996.[^3] ### Federal judicial service President Bill Clinton submitted Frank's nomination on May 21, 1998, for the District of Minnesota seat left vacant by [[David S. Doty]].[^2][^3] Frank was confirmed on October 21, 1998, and his commission is dated October 22, 1998.[^2][^3] He took senior status on October 31, 2016.[^2][^3] ## Personal life The personal-life section of Frank's Wikipedia article gives an account of a case from his time as an assistant county attorney for St. Louis County.[^4] According to that account, he tried before a jury the first felony child sexual abuse case in Minnesota in which expert testimony was admitted. The testimony explained why young children do not report abuse and why mothers often side with the accused father or boyfriend.[^4] The account states that the expert was permitted to testify that the child's behavior was consistent with that of other child sexual abuse victims the expert had worked with.[^4] Frank also handled the appeal to the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]]. In *State v. Myers*, 359 N.W.2d 604 (Minn. 1984), that court unanimously upheld the admission of such testimony for the first time.[^4] The account states that the decision "remains the law to this day."[^4] It also says Frank credits state trial judge Mitchell A. Dubow for the result, and it opens by stating that Frank credits Dubow for championing disability laws.[^4] The *Myers* opinion itself is not among this article's sources; the description above rests on the Wikipedia section.[^4] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Donovan Wayne Frank, senior judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.[^1][^2] ### What - His federal judicial biography is kept by the Federal Judicial Center.[^2] - He is the subject of State of Minnesota pages on developmental disabilities and equal justice and on the ADA Legacy Project.[^5][^6] - He is listed in Mitchell Hamline School of Law's faculty and administration.[^7] ### When - Born 1951. He received a B.A. in 1973 and a J.D. in 1977.[^3] - He was appointed a state district judge in 1985. He was assistant chief judge from 1988 to 1991 and Chief Judge from 1991 to 1996.[^3] - Nominated May 21, 1998; confirmed October 21, 1998; commissioned October 22, 1998.[^2][^3] - Took senior status October 31, 2016.[^2][^3] ### Where - Born in Rochester, Minnesota. He worked as a prosecutor in St. Louis County and served as a judge in the Sixth Judicial District.[^3] ### How - He reached the federal bench by presidential nomination and confirmation, to the seat vacated by David S. Doty.[^2][^3] ## See also - [[United States District Court for the District of Minnesota]] - [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] - [[David S. Doty]] ## Notes [^1]: U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, *The Honorable Donovan W. Frank* (undated) — court's page identifying Frank as a judge of the District of Minnesota. https://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/DWF [^2]: Federal Judicial Center, *Donovan W. Frank* (judicial biography, undated) — federal biographical record of Frank's judicial service. https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/frank-donovan-w [^3]: Wikipedia, *Donovan W. Frank* (revision 1354057464, retrieved 2026-10-26) — birth, education, state judicial career, and nomination, confirmation, commission and senior-status dates. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donovan_W._Frank [^4]: Wikipedia, *Donovan W. Frank* (revision 1354057464, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Personal life" section — account of the St. Louis County child sexual abuse trial, *State v. Myers*, 359 N.W.2d 604 (Minn. 1984), and Frank's credit to Judge Mitchell A. Dubow. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donovan_W._Frank [^5]: State of Minnesota (MNDDC pages), *Developmental Disabilities and Equal Justice Under the Law: Judge Donovan W. Frank - Minnesota Resources* (undated) — state resource page devoted to Frank. https://state.mn.us/mnddc/extra/judge-frank.html [^6]: State of Minnesota (MNDDC pages), *Judge Donovan Frank and the ADA Legacy Project* (undated) — state ADA Legacy page devoted to Frank. https://mn.gov/mnddc/ada-legacy/ada-legacy-moment04.html [^7]: Mitchell Hamline School of Law, *Donovan W. Frank — Mitchell Hamline Faculty and Administration* (undated) — lists Frank among the school's faculty and administration. https://mitchellhamline.edu/biographies/person/donovan-w-frank/