Frank Caprio (judge)

Judge Frank Caprio (born November 23, 1936) is the chief municipal judge in Providence, Rhode Island and the former Chairman of the Rhode Island Board of Governors. His judicial work is televised on Caught in Providence.

Judge Frank Caprio is the Chief Judge of the Providence Municipal Court in Providence, RI.

Early life

Caprio was born into a family of ten to parents Antonio and Filomena Caprio, first Generation Italian immigrants who lived in Providence. His father worked as a fruit peddler and a milkman.

Caprio attended the Providence public schools, while working as a dishwasher and shoe-shiner. He graduated from Central High School where he was an all-state wrestler. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Providence College. After graduating, he began teaching American government at Hope High School in Providence, Rhode Island. While teaching at Hope, coaching its wrestling team and starting a family of his own, Caprio attended the Suffolk University School of Law in Boston, taking evening classes. After graduating from law school in 1965, Caprio began his legal career.

Career

Caprio has served as a Providence Municipal Court Judge since 1985. He served as chairman of the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education which controls major decisions for the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and Community College of Rhode Island. He has endorsed keeping public colleges affordable and accessible for all Rhode Islanders. He was elected to the Providence City Council in 1962 and served until 1968. He was elected as a Delegate to the Rhode Island Constitutional Convention in 1975 and he has been elected as a Delegate to five Democratic National Conventions.

In addition to his law firm, Caprio is a partner in the Coast Guard House Restaurant in Narragansett, Rhode Island.

Caught in Providence

Caught in Providence started national syndication on September 24, 2018. The show, featuring real court proceedings on low-level citations, has run for more than two decades on local television in Providence, Rhode Island.[1] Caprio’s brother, Joseph Caprio, started filming the court cases more than 20 years ago. The show garnered national attention when videos, posted online, went viral. Clips from his courtroom have amassed more than 1 billion views worldwide, aggregated by Citylife’s Sociable platform.[2]

For showrunner Brad Johnson, the online reaction to Caprio prompted him to pitch the show for a national audience. He told a friend who’s in the TV business, who at first rejected the idea. There are enough judge shows. That was until the friend saw a “sizzle reel,” or highlights of the show. “It’s not a judge show,” Johnson said. “It’s a human-interest story, it’s humorous. It’s not some sound stage, it’s not mean-spirited. It’s actually an every-person message.”[3]

“We love Judge Caprio’s heartfelt take on justice and think Caught in Providence will truly stand out from every other show on daytime television,” said Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein, co-presidents of Lionsgate-owned Debmar-Mercury. “In these contentious times, many viewers are simply looking for something lighthearted and fun. Caught in Providence has proven to be exactly that, and has an unprecedented social media following to prove it.”

"We are proud to work with Debmar-Mercury to showcase the wonderful people of the City of Providence, RI, and their experiences in America’s most interesting courtroom,” said Citylife Productions owner Joseph Caprio. “We will keep it real by continuing to film the actual cases and litigants in the Providence Municipal Court.”[4]

The series is produced by Debmar-Mercury, Citylife Productions, and Sociable. It airs weekdays on Fox O&Os in Providence, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Phoenix, Orlando, Minneapolis and Charlotte, NC.

Community outreach

At Suffolk University School of Law, Judge Caprio founded the Antonio “Tup” Caprio Scholarship Fund. This scholarship, named after the Judge’s father, who was only of a fifth grade education, is for Rhode Island students who are committed to improving access to legal services in Rhode Island urban core neighborhoods. He has also established scholarships at Providence College, Suffolk Law School, and for graduates of Central High School, named in honor of his father.

Judge Caprio has been involved in the Boys Town of Italy, the Nickerson House Juvenile Court and Rhode Island Food Bank. In 1983 he was the Co-Chair for the Rhode Island Statute of Liberty Foundation (raising funds for the restoration of the Statute of Liberty and Ellis Island). The Judge was also a member of the Board of Regents of Elementary and Secondary education and the Governor’s Pre-K thru 16 Council on education. He is a Member of President’s Council at Providence College and on the Dean’s Advisory Committee at Suffolk Law School.  

Awards and honors

Judge Caprio was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law by his alma mater Suffolk University School of Law in 1991 and Providence College in 2008, and also received an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from the University of Rhode Island in 2016. In 2003 he was the first recipient of the Enrico Caruso Award from the Providence Opera for his major contributions to the arts. In August 2018, Judge Caprio received the Producer's Circle Award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

Family

Judge Caprio has been married to Joyce Tibaldi Caprio for over 50 years. They have five children together, including: Frank T. Caprio, David Caprio, Marissa Caprio Pesce, John Caprio, and Paul Caprio. They also have seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20180926/caught-in-providence-is-now-courting-national-audience

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/viral-judge-frank-caprio-rules-with-a-big-heart-1090765891978?v=railb&

https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/names/2017/12/12/kindly-providence-judge-frank-caprio-getting-his-own-show/TOrhRN1EOBT1FJA7u98O1J/story.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/humankind/2017/07/11/judge-lets-kid-choose-dads-punishment/466003001/

https://www.apnews.com/5f871f1be28747abbe53a0fc98f45adf

https://radio.foxnews.com/2017/02/10/judge-frank-caprios-reaction-to-womans-parking-ticket-goes-viral/

http://wpri.com/2017/12/12/will-judge-caprio-get-paid-when-caught-in-providence-goes-national-no/

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/frank-caprio-stupid-traffic-ticket_us_589b50ece4b04061313abfa5?tfls1yvi

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/this-black-caped-hero-isn-t-batman-us-judge-a-hit-for-his-compassionate-verdicts/story-oc9n77WNg6nLoBugWLL0cK.html

http://www.extra.ec/buena-vida/juez-justo-rhode-island-caught-in-providence-CY1643602

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/judges-priceless-reaction-after-hearing-9777581

http://www.insideedition.com/headlines/21546-judge-cant-stop-laughing-after-woman-was-fined-for-parking-2-seconds-early

References

  1. ↑ Amaral, Brian. "'Caught in Providence' is now courting a national audience". providencejournal.com. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  2. ↑ Andreeva, Denise Petski,Nellie (2017-12-12). "'Caught In Providence' Court Show Picked Up By Fox Stations For Fall 2018". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  3. ↑ Amaral, Brian. "'Caught in Providence' is now courting a national audience". providencejournal.com. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  4. ↑ Andreeva, Denise Petski,Nellie (2017-12-12). "'Caught In Providence' Court Show Picked Up By Fox Stations For Fall 2018". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
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