This is from the MN Governor’s Council on Development Disabilities:

Nowhere in this interview does U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank mention the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) but his comments on bigotry, employment, abuse and especially on the influence of self-advocates, reflects on how far our society has come since the passage of ADA, the importance of maintaining the ADA, and the need to advance the ADA, particularly through the influence of self-advocates on the disability justice community.

Prior to his appointment to the Federal bench, Judge Frank served as an Assistant St. Louis County Attorney for the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office in Virginia, Minnesota and Chief Judge of the sixteen-judge Sixth Judicial District. He was influenced by serving on the board of directors for a day program serving people with developmental disabilities, working with parent leaders, and his first hand involvement with commitment issues and the mental health system.

Video: Judge Frank Interview for TPT
http://www.mnddc.org/institutions-to-independence/frankInterview.html

Sources:

Institutions To Independence

Profile of United States District Court Judge Donovan Frank from the 
September 2010 issue of The Federal Lawyer

“Juries and the Disabled,” December 2012 issue of The Federal Lawyer

The Honorable Donovan Frank, US District Court Judge District of Minnesota, was recently awarded the Paul G. Heane Award for Disability Rights by the American Bar Association (ABA)