MINNEAPOLIS — One of the state's most prominent prosecutors will soon be leading his own courtroom.
Gov. Tim Walz is appointing Matthew Frank to fill one of two vacancies for Minnesota's Fourth Judicial District.
Frank garnered national attention in recent years as a prosecutor for the Minnesota Attorney General's Office in two high-profile trials of former police officers. He secured the conviction of former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, and later won a manslaughter case against former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter in the death of Daunte Wright.
The cases against Chauvin and Potter were both heard in Hennepin County District Court, where Frank will now take a seat on the judicial bench.
"(Matthew Frank) will be a remarkable judge who will approach this position with the understanding that justice is a process, not a result," Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement.
Prior to his work as managing attorney for the Criminal Division of the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, Frank was an assistant county attorney in Wright County, as well as a public defender and an attorney in private practice.
According to a news release, Frank will replace Judge Nicole Engisch in Hennepin County.
Frank is the second member of the prosecution team from the Chauvin trial to secure a judgeship; Jerry Blackwell was nominated by President Joe Biden to a federal judicial post in Minnesota last year.
In addition to Frank, Gov. Walz also named assistant U.S. attorney Sarah Hudleston to fill an additional vacancy in Minnesota's Fourth Judicial District. Like Frank, Hudleston will be chambered in Hennepin County.
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