The world needs more people like Judge Frank Caprio!
Judge Caprio is 82-years-old, and since 1985 he has been a municipal court judge in Providence, Rhode Island, presiding over low-level citations, things like traffic and parking violations.
He's known for his straight forward demeanor, humor and compassionate rulings, and when videos of some of those rulings showed up on social media, they went viral. That eventually led to a TV show called "Caught In Providence" which aired locally for more than 20 years.
The videos of his rulings have more than 1.7 BILLION views on social media, so you've likely come across one at some point on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. (My personal favorites are the ones where he interviews a defendant's child about the violations and whether or not their parent is telling him the truth.) That social media attention led to 'Caught In Providence' to be syndicated in 2018, and it's now seen nationally in 186 cities across the United States.
The video below has more than 16.8 million views. See what happens when Mr. Coalla, a 96 year old man goes in front of Judge Capria for a ticket for driving too fast in a school zone.
Judge Capria has been interviewed countless times about how he handles cases over the years, and why he sometimes cuts people a break by dismissing a case or reducing fines. He told the website Stars and Stripes:
“The smallest thing can change someone’s life. My father’s mantra was help people when you can. We were taught in life that it’s not enough to climb the ladder of success. You have to lead down the ladder so others can follow in your footsteps.”
Check out some more 'Caught In Providence' videos below and see them all on their YouTube channel