A Judge With a Heart: My Tribute to Frank Caprio

Rhode Island lost one of its favorite sons on Wednesday. Judge Frank Caprio--only hours after posting a heart-wrenching video on social media asking for people to remember him in their prayers–died on Wednesday, surrounded by family, after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.

Caprio served as a Providence Municipal Court judge for nearly 40 years. He was known for his compassion, humility, and humor—traits that turned his non-descript, every day courtroom into an unlikely TV phenomenon.

“Caught in Providence” became an underground classic, earning four Daytime Emmy nominations—twice for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program and twice for Caprio himself as Outstanding Daytime Personality.

Many snippets of Caprio's cases went viral as people were fascinated by watching a compassionate judge who actually cared about the people that came before him. What does that say about society when these simple gestures were perceived by many as an oddity?

For those who remember the original Night Court TV show back in the 1980s starring Harry Anderson as the fictional judge of a Manhattan municipal court, "Caught in Providence" was a reality version of it.

A Judge Who Saw People, Not Cases

Caprio's program was nothing fancy. It wasn't a big production like "Judge Judy" or any of the other copycat judge shows that are out there. Caprio didn't berate the defendants that came before him. He didn't lecture them. He didn't act like he was better than them.

These defendants were normal, and sometimes not-so-normal, everyday citizens. They would come before Judge Caprio for minor traffic violations like speeding or parking tickets. Most judges today would just look at the facts of the case on a piece of paper and slam their gavel and say, "Guilty. Pay the fine. Next!"

Not Caprio. He would look at each defendant in the eye. He would show every single one of them respect. He didn't just look at what they did wrong. He'd ask why did they do it. He wanted to know background about the person. He wanted to know their life story.

He had a soft spot for military veterans. For single parents who were working multiple jobs to support their young families. For people with disabilities.

He believed people were inherently good. He saw the good in people even when others didn't.

Where others saw a scruffy, long-haired man, wearing drab clothes, Caprio saw a Vietnam veteran shunned after returning from war. Where others saw an angry Black woman in traffic court, he saw a mother racing to day care after picking up extra hours at work to put food on the table. Where others saw a tattooed teenager, he saw an introverted kid who felt misunderstood and ostracized by society.

Essentially, Caprio had a heart. He wasn't cold-blooded and soul-less. He wanted to make a positive difference in people's lives. He wanted to show people that there were people out there who cared.

And that is so rare to see in people of authority nowadays, especially politicians and judges. And that is what made him special.

My Own Brush With “Justice”

A few weeks ago, I received an envelope in the mail. Inside was a photograph—not the nice kind like we used to receive decades ago of family and friends. No, this was a paper with a picture of the back of my car.

You know the paper with the picture I am talking about. If you've been driving a while, you are bound to have received one of these in the mail by now.

It was a traffic ticket taken by a robotic, automated camera at a traffic signal. Was I speeding? No, the ticket stated I was going all of 15 mph. Did I run a red light? No, my brake lights were clearly visible in the picture.

The ticket was a fine for $85 for a "No Turn on Red" violation. They have cameras for that now? I had never heard of such a thing.

I have been taking that particular right turn on red for the last 35 years. It's a not-very-busy T-shaped intersection and I've never even come close to having an incident there.

But what can I do about it? I've heard it is pointless to contest a camera traffic violation. They have you dead to rights on camera committing the violation. End of story. I read on one site that these traffic cameras are "easy revenue for cities."

If only I could have appeared in court in front of Judge Caprio. He might have agreed the sign was ridiculous. More importantly, he would have asked why was I in such a hurry.

Knowing me, I would have started out with a wise crack like, "Have you ever been in Central Falls? You'd want to get out of there as fast as you could too." (Central Falls, Rhode Island was once known as "Sparkle City" because of it once being known as the cocaine capital of the Northeast)

After I hopefully made Judge Caprio chuckle (maybe not), I would explain that when I saw the date on the ticket, I realized this was the day I took my partner for a colonoscopy appointment.

She had taken the prep a little later than she should have so, let's just say, she wasn't completely cleaned out by the time we were supposed to leave for the appointment. Suffice to say I was a little anxious about getting her there quickly. That would have made for some pretty good TV. Maybe it would have gone viral!

A Different Kind of Judge

When I think about Caprio today, I also think about my Social Security Disability hearing. It lasted all of 40 minutes. It was done remotely--on a computer screen. I was asked maybe four or five basic questions. The judge never smiled, never greeted me, never tried to understand why I was battling grief and depression. Not once did she ask me about my mother dying, or offer her condolences.

I was just a case file. Probably one of seven or eight cases she was trudging through that day so she could get back to her expensive home in time for dinner and to enjoy a glass of wine.

There is no doubt Judge Caprio would have been different. He would have asked me about my mother’s death, how it affected me, and what it was like managing a restaurant during the peak of COVID while dealing with that sort of grief. He would have offered his condolences. He would have given me as much time as I needed to say my piece. Maybe he would have relayed a personal story of his own and the difficulties he had dealing with the loss of someone he loved.

That's what set him apart. He related to people.

The Legacy of Frank Caprio

Former Providence mayor Joseph Paolino, who appointed Caprio to the bench in 1985, remembered him in an interview with WPRI-TV:

“I just knew that he was very smart, very ethical. He just took it to a whole other level. Who would have ever thought that he would become the most famous judge in America from Providence, Rhode Island?”

Paolino went on to reiterate what people loved most about Caprio:

Frank tried to put himself in their shoes. He tried to understand why they were in that position.

Caprio retired from the bench in January 2023. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December of that same year. Doctors gave him six months to live. Not surprising, he proved them wrong and outlived the prognosis by over a year.

The devout Caprio claimed in his social media post--mere hours before he passed--that he did so with the help of prayers from the over 17 million people who followed him on Instagram along with countless others who were touched by his kind soul.

His Final Words

I’ll close with Caprio’s own message, delivered in an interview with Univision’s Astrid Rivera shortly before his death:

“I don't know what the future holds. I don't know. So I tell you, enjoy every minute of your life. Sometimes in life we take things for granted. We have a nice life. We have a great position. We are in positions of authority. We have nice families. We have nice friends. That's wonderful as long as it lasts. But you never know. You never know from one day to the next what life will bring. And so enjoy what you have. Be kind to people. Take care of your families.”

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