Growing up in a small town in Minnesota, Donovan Frank overcame the modest expectations of his high school teacher to attend college and then law school. He later also overcame alcoholism, a condition that nearly destroyed his marriage, on his way to becoming a state judge and then a federal judge in the District of Minnesota, where he has served for two decades.
Judge Frank’s career is the subject of a newly released edition of Pathways to the Bench, a U.S. Courts video series in which judges talk about challenges they overcame on their way to service on the federal bench.
Throughout his legal career, Frank has been attuned to the needs of people with disabilities and committed to ensuring everyone has equal access to justice. He says that conquering difficulties in his own life made him “a better person, a better lawyer, and a better judge.” Judge Donovan Frank is serving justice in his St. Paul courtroom one day at a time.
Watch other videos in the Pathways to the Bench series. The videos are intended for all audiences. They can be especially inspiring to high school students, youth groups, and other audiences who have hopes and dreams for the future.
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