Donovan W. Frank

Donovan W. Frank
Frank in 2019
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
Incumbent
Assumed office October 31, 2016
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
In office October 22, 1998 – October 31, 2016
Appointed by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	David S. Doty
Succeeded by	Eric C. Tostrud
Personal details
Born	(1951-06-24) June 24, 1951 (age 73) Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.
Education	Luther College (BA) Hamline University (JD)

Donovan Wayne Frank^[1] (born June 24, 1951) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Frank was born in Rochester, Minnesota. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Luther College in 1973 and his Juris Doctor from Hamline University School of Law in 1977.

Frank began his legal career as an assistant county attorney in St. Louis County, Minnesota. In 1985, he was appointed a state district court judge in Minnesota's Sixth Judicial District. Frank served as an assistant chief judge of that court from 1988 to 1991. He was Chief Judge from 1991 to 1996.

On May 21, 1998, President Bill Clinton nominated Frank to the seat on the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota vacated by David S. Doty. He was confirmed on October 21, 1998 and later received his commission on October 22, 1998. He assumed senior status on October 31, 2016.^[2]

Frank credits Judge Mitchell A. Dubow for championing disability laws:

As an assistant attorney for St. Louis County, Judge Frank tried a case before a jury that involved the first felony child sexual abuse case in the state of Minnesota in which expert testimony was allowed to explain why young children do not report sexual abuse and why mothers often support the father or the boyfriend who is accused of the abuse. The expert was allowed to testify that the child’s behavior was consistent with that of other child sexual abuse victims with whom the expert had worked. Judge Frank also handled the appeal of the case to the Minnesota Supreme Court. In State v. Myers, 359 N.W.2d 604 (Minn. 1984), the Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the receipt of such testimony for the first time. The decision remains the law to this day. Judge Frank credits a courageous state trial judge, Mitchell A. Dubow, for the result.^[3]

• Donovan W. Frank at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Serres, Chris, "Jan. 26: Maverick judge to decide fate of sex offenders program", Minneapolis Star-Tribune, September 3, 2014.