Judge Frank Caprio’s Final Interview: A Legacy of Love, Faith & Compassion

Summary

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THE ED MYLETT SHOW

Episode: Judge Frank Caprio’s Final Interview: A Legacy of Love, Faith & Compassion

Release Date: September 16, 2025
Guest: Judge Frank Caprio
Host: Ed Mylett

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Main Theme and Purpose

This poignant episode features what would become the final interview of Judge Frank Caprio, renowned as “America’s Nicest Judge.” The conversation explores Judge Caprio’s life philosophy, the lessons of love, faith, compassion, and service that defined his career and personal life, and his reflections on family, legacy, and the meaning of a life well-lived. Both heartfelt and practical, the episode is a tribute to the transformative power of kindness and the enduring impact of compassion in leadership and daily life.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Origins of Compassion – Family and Early Lessons

• The Influence of Family (03:46–07:02):

  • Judge Caprio recounts a formative story: as a child, his immigrant grandmother brought his father (then a teen) to court to interpret for her after his grandfather, a fruit peddler, was arrested. The judge’s kindness in that case left a lifelong impression.
    • “The judge said to my father… Tell your mother that I’m going to send her husband home and I want her to cook him a good meal. He’s a good man and he had one bad day. I’m not going to keep him here.” —Judge Caprio [06:06]
  • The story became a proud family tale, shaping Judge Caprio’s own sense of justice and compassion.

• Perspective on Poverty as Privilege (07:02–08:23):

  • Judge Caprio describes growing up poor as a “privilege,” explaining how it instilled appreciation for opportunities in America and the non-material riches of life.
    • “I did have the privilege of being brought up poor because I appreciated… the fabric of America and the riches that we have here, not so much in money, but in what we’re entitled to and how we’re treated.” —Judge Caprio [07:25]

2. Compassion in Action – Judicial Philosophy and Leadership

• Upholding a Positive Outlook on Humanity (09:54–12:24):

  • Ed Mylett probes how Judge Caprio maintained faith in people through decades of presiding over those often at their lowest moments.
  • Judge Caprio credits his parents’ consistent, quiet acts of charity and empathy for establishing his approach. His father, a milkman, defied company rules to keep supplying milk to families with children even if they couldn’t pay.
    • “These were the examples that I saw… These weren’t speeches… They did it by way of example.” —Judge Caprio [12:09]

• Learning from Mistakes – A Judge’s First Day (13:35–16:37):

  • Judge Caprio shares a critical early lesson: after issuing harsh penalties to a struggling mother who was “arrogant,” his father chastised him, reminding him to view others’ circumstances empathetically.
    • “She was scared… Maybe she can’t feed her kids tonight… You weren’t brought up that way.” —Judge Caprio, relaying his father’s words [14:12]
  • This became the foundation for his lifelong commitment to judging with compassion.

• The Practice of Empathy (16:37–17:49):

  • Judge Caprio confirms he always tried to “place himself in the shoes” of those standing before him, a direct lesson from his father.

3. Service, Humility, and Values

• The Meaning of a Good Life (19:53–20:43):

  • Facing his own health challenges, Judge Caprio is asked what defines a good life:
    • “A good life is service to others. That’s a good life. Self-aggrandizement is not a good life. Personal wealth is not a good life. But treating others with respect and dignity and helping when you can, that’s a good life.” —Judge Caprio [20:26]

• Compassion as an Action, Not Just a Concept (21:30–21:59):

  • He emphasizes that true compassion means acting to meet others’ needs, not simply feeling or talking about compassion.
    • “Act of compassion is you help them out.” —Judge Caprio [21:33]

4. Leadership, Family, and Cycle Breaking

• The Nature of True Leadership (22:00–23:32):

  • Judge Caprio defines great leadership as leading by example, treating others well, and acting in alignment with one’s words.

• Family as the Core of Society (23:32–25:13):

  • Ed and Judge Caprio reflect on the shrinking of friendship circles with age and the persistent importance of family.
    • “The basic unit of society is the family unit… Our first teachers in life are our parents… At the end of the day, we’re judged not by how much money we make, but how much we help others.” —Judge Caprio [24:50]

• Breaking Cycles of Hardship (26:05–27:38):

  • Judge Caprio underscores the power of the family unit to break destructive patterns like poverty and trauma, describing his own large, loving extended family as a constant source of security and nourishment.

5. Legacy and Final Reflections

• Changing Perspectives and Embedded Lessons (27:38–29:34):

  • Asked if he changed any major beliefs over his lifetime, Judge Caprio says his parents’ lessons are “deeply embedded,” especially the importance of personal involvement in children’s lives and unwavering family support.

• On the Disintegration of Family (29:34–29:44):

  • He laments the decline of the family unit as “the sin of this country.”

• How He Hopes to Be Remembered (30:05–30:15):

  • “I want to be remembered as someone that helped other people… particularly those in need.” —Judge Caprio

• Ed Mylett’s Final Tribute (31:13–31:23):

  • Ed praises Judge Caprio’s character, especially for still showing up to help others despite serious health struggles, and encourages listeners to read Caprio's book and honor him.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If you just watched him, I think you’d just live better if you emulated many of the things that he does in his life.” —Ed Mylett [01:37]

• “Compassion is action.” —Judge Caprio [21:30]

• “At the end of the day, how we treat other people is really how we’re going to be judged.” —Judge Caprio [23:00]

• “The disintegration of the family unit is the sin of this country.” —Judge Caprio [29:39]

• “He [Judge Caprio] told us all in that interview, justice without compassion isn’t justice at all.” —Ed's Producer [31:26]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Judge Caprio’s early childhood and the formative court story: [03:46–07:02]
• On viewing poverty as privilege and parental influence: [07:02–12:24]
• Impactful lesson from his first day as a judge: [13:35–16:37]
• Judge Caprio explains his empathy for others: [16:37–17:49]
• Reflections on a good life and service to others: [19:53–20:43]
• What compassion in action means: [21:30–21:59]
• Philosophy on leadership: [23:00–23:32]
• Importance of family as a foundation: [23:32–25:13]
• Breaking cycles and supporting others: [26:05–27:38]
• Hard lessons and changing views (if any) with age: [27:38–29:34]
• On legacy and how he wishes to be remembered: [30:05–30:15]

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Episode Tone and Final Thoughts

The episode exudes warmth, humility, and deep reflection. Judge Caprio’s words are gentle yet powerful, rich with stories and lived wisdom. Throughout, Ed Mylett’s admiration and emotional resonance with Caprio’s values deepen the authenticity of the exchange. Listeners are left with clear, actionable wisdom: live with compassion, serve others, value family, and lead by example.

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Further Action

Recommended:

• Read Judge Caprio’s book, Compassion in the Court: Life Changing Stories from America’s Nicest Judge
• Consider donations to Judge Caprio’s favorite cause (link in episode show notes)

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“I want to be remembered as someone that helped other people… particularly those in need.”
—Judge Frank Caprio [30:05]

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Transcript

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[Ed Mylett]

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Favorites at participate at McDonald's for a limited time. This is the Ed Mylett show, everybody.

[Ed Mylett's Co-host or Producer]

So I got come with you with sort of mixed emotions today. I'm both excited and at the same time grieving a little bit like millions of other people are.

[Ed Mylett]

So today I'm going to share with.

[Ed Mylett's Co-host or Producer]

You a conversation with the beautiful soul. That was Judge Frank Caprio. And ironically, we didn't know it at the time, but this was the last interview of this precious man's life. So I'm honored to share it with you. I'm also honored to let you know that on behalf of his family, we're going to make a donation to his favorite cause. And if you're interested in donating along with us, you can click the link below or in the show notes. But this is a beautiful conversation with a brilliant and gentle Jeff generous man. And I'm so honored that I got to share the final one of his life with all of you. God bless you, everybody. Enjoy this special conversation with a beautiful man.

[Ed Mylett]

All right, welcome back to the show, everybody. So today's special day for me. This is somebody that I've admired from a distance for it's just an extremely long time. He's a Internet sensation, but he's 88 years old. You all know who he is. Immediately. You'll recognize his voice. If you're on YouTube, you'll recognize his face. I consider him a kindness broker, a kindness broker and somebody that if you just watched him, I think he'd just live better if you emulated many of the things that he does in his life. And he's coming to us today on a day I think he's feeling his best. He's also been going through a cancer battle. I asked him how he was 1 to 10. He said a 5. I said, well, by the time we're done, we're getting you to at least a 6.2. So he's, he's sucking it up for us today on a day where he's not feeling his best as well. But he has a way to always make other people feel their best, even when he's not feeling his best. And he'll do that for all of you today, for millions of you around the world. This is the great judge Frank Caprio joining us today. Judge Frank, thank you for being here today. It's an honor to have you.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

Well, thank you for the opportunity. It's my son Frank is here and we got one of the producers that's been with my dad from day one. Emmy nominated four times. Taylor. How you doing? My mom wants to say hello.

[Ed Mylett]

Hi, mom, how are you?

[Judge Frank Caprio]

How are you?

[Ed Mylett]

Well, we're going to hold your whole family up in some prayer, like literally right when this thing's over with. So we get a little comfort and a little strength coming your way.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

That's good.

[Ed Mylett]

Thank you for sharing. Thank you for sharing him with us today. I know it wasn't easy and we're very, very grateful. So thank you. Let's go back a long time. When you're 88, you can go back a long time. Right? We could go through your upbringing and whatnot. But I want to first touch on a day because it just struck my heart. I actually was reading about, I got teary eyed you as a little boy and your grandmother, ironically, of all places is in court. And that day kind of made an imprint on you for the rest of your life, never knowing at that age you'd end up spending a lot of your life in courtrooms. You were just a little boy at the time. But maybe you could just set the stage for maybe just a lesson in your life that you learned very young in a place that you spent a lot of time teaching other people lessons.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

That was actually my father who was in court with his father.

[Ed Mylett]

Okay.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

And my grandfather was a fruit peddler from Italy.

[Ed Mylett]

Ah, okay.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

As, as was my father. Okay. I'm first generation here. So my grandfather and a number of his buddies after pedaling fruit all day, decided they play some cards and they got a little rowdy and my grandfather got arrested. And my grandfather, My father was one of 10 children.

[Ed Mylett]

One.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

And so my grandmother was notified that the following day she had to be in court because her husband got arrested. She doesn't understand the process here. So she thinks she needs a lot of money to get her husband out of jail. So she goes to all the other fruit peddlers and borrows Money from them. And the following day she brings my father because she didn't speak English. She brings my father, who was in his early teens at the time. She brings my father as the interpreter.

[Ed Mylett]

Oh, my goodness. Okay, so your dad's the little boy?

[Judge Frank Caprio]

My dad is the little boy. Right. Okay.

[Ed Mylett]

And what did he see that day?

[Judge Frank Caprio]

My grandmother is there with my dad in court and my grandfather's been in the cell all night, you know, so they call his case and my grandfather comes from the cell when he's disheveled and they seat him down. And my grandmother gets so excited. She. She's in this strange court. Well, what she did was the night before she went out and borrowed money from all of the other fruit peddlers, thinking that she was going to need some money to get her husband out of jail. And so as soon as they bring my grandfather up, my father is the interpreter because my grandmother didn't speak English. And she says she has a handful of money that she borrowed from the federals. And she says, please, judge, please, no jail. I got a pneumonia. It's an interesting story because My father was one of 10 children and they all told this story with such reverence for that judge. And my father, every time he discussed his judge, here's how he described him. That great white haired Irish judge. A great white haired Irish judge.

[Ed Mylett]

Why was he great? Was he kind to your grandmother?

[Judge Frank Caprio]

My grandmother got up and said, here's the money. The judge said to my father, are you going to interpret for your mom? And he says, yes. He says, tell your mother that I'm going to send her husband home and I want him her to cook him a good meal. He's a good man and he had one bad day and I'm not going to keep him here, but I want you to go home with him and take care of him. Wow. That one episode changed the view of justice with all 10 children. I heard that story when I was a kid. It changed my view from the time I was a youngster, you know, and I always remembered that story. And interestingly, in Providence, an area of immigrants, particularly Latin American. And I could review that story a thousand times over with those that came before me, But I always remembered the impact that it had on my family.

[Ed Mylett]

That upbringing of yours. This is interesting for people to hear, just perspective, because you don't hear this anymore. Everything on Instagram now is, get your Lamborghini, be a rich guy, you know, get on the boat and sell the dream, you know. And you said, you know, the way you grew up. You're poor. And you actually called that a privilege. Do you really mean that? And if you do mean it, what was the privilege of being poor?

[Judge Frank Caprio]

It's true. I did have the privilege of being brought up poor because I appreciated, because of my upbringing with both parents who were immigrants, the fabric of America and the riches that we have here, not so much in money, but in what we're entitled to and how we're treated. And my father constantly preached that about what a great country this was and that we had opportunity. And I can remember, you know, just simple little things that he, when I was 10 years old, he said to me, someday you're going to be a lawyer. And it was like an edict, you know, from above. Never wanted to be anything else but a lawyer from the time I was 10 years old.

[Ed Mylett]

Did you ever think when you were going to become a lawyer that you'd end up being a judge? I mean, there was no Internet at the time, but I mean, did you have a sense that that's something that maybe your life mattered, that you wanted to have an impact in the world?

[Judge Frank Caprio]

Was that it was not one of my goals. It never dawned upon me. You have to understand, we lived in what they call a cold water flat, which means we didn't have hot running water. And it was just the fact that I was going to be a lawyer was so monumental to me. So we never went to the next step that after that what was going to. What was going to happen. But it happened naturally, obviously.

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[Ed Mylett]

You and I would watch your clips. By the way, I watch Very few things on social media. So you're all over my social media feed because I clicked on these clips of you all the time. I feel like I really know you very well. And, you know, I wanted to ask you. This isn't in the book, but it's something I'm just curious about. You have kept since that story you learned as a little boy about the judge and your family. You've kept this. I'd call it like an outlook on humanity that is favorable and positive and loving. This is a hard question, Frank, but I'm curious, sir. That's gotta be hard, you know, and you're in a courtroom, so you're mainly seeing people who are accounting for one of their bigger mistakes in their life. You're not seeing them on their best day, necessarily. And in the world today, you know, in social media or tv, it's. It's just so much negativity all the time that it can sour you on people, you know, on life. And I don't think anybody would blame you as a judge. Day after day, hearing people's stories of, you know, why they've made this mistake or committed this crime. How did you or did you keep this outlook that people are good in general and that we should treat them well?

[Judge Frank Caprio]

I was very fortunate that it wasn't only my father, it was my mother as well. You know, my mother was known in the neighborhood for feeding people that were hungry. If you were hungry, come to my house. Don't worry. You would get a nice meal. And it was always like, let's help other people without saying that. But anyone that was in distress would stop by our house and they were helped. My father, one of his jobs was he was a milkman. He'd wake my brother and I up at 4 in the morning. He'd go to work on the truck. If you don't want to do this the rest of your life, make sure you stay in school. But I learned something from that. If someone could not pay their milk bill, the company had a policy that after three weeks, you stopped delivery. That was their policy. His policy was if they had children, he would never stop their milk. Company policy was. And many times he'd take money out of his own pocket and put. And say, they're making an effort to pay.

[Ed Mylett]

Oh, my gosh.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

So these were the examples that I saw, you know, by way of example, these weren't speeches that were given to me. So it wasn't a situation where I was giving a speech saying, do A and my parents did B. You know, they never made the speech. All they did was. They did.

[Ed Mylett]

They did a. I've always said with parents, a lot of the things with our parents, it's caught, not taught. We catch it because we see it from them. It's different than hearing a speech like some guy like me could give from a stage or something like that. I was thinking about all the stories. By the way, his book, you guys, I want to make sure that I give him proper credit for this book. By the way, his nickname is America's Nicest Judge, but the book is called Compassion in the Court. Life Changing Stories from America's Nicest Judge. He's just one of America's kindest people. There he is. He's holding it up. And I want to make sure you've learned that you've learned the social media game for sure. I want to make sure that you guys all get this because these are lessons that, you know, they're timeless, and in a time like we're in today, they're mandatory. And the other thing I like about you, you're transparent. You're not perfect. You've made mistakes in your life as well. And I was thinking about, about your first day as a judge, and you have a story from that day, your very first day, that I think you tended to regret a little bit of something from that day. And I think it just goes to show you that you can learn lessons in life if you don't handle things perfectly the first time too. If you wouldn't mind sharing that story.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

My first day on the court, I asked my dad if he would come down. You know, I'm a judge now, you know, I want my dad to see me up on the bench. Sure. And this woman came in. She had three or four kids, I'm not sure how many. And she had traffic violations of somewhere around 3 to $400. And she was the most arrogant person you can imagine. So she said, she's in the court, I'm trying to help her. And she says, I just can't pay it. I'm not paying it. I don't have the money, you know, and the more I try to help her, the more arrogant she became. And so then she became arrogant and I became a little upset and I fined her the full fine. I gave her penalties, I gave her everything. And now the court is over, and I'm so proud of myself. You know, my dad was there on my first day as a judge, and I was in my judge's chambers, and I said to the bailiff, bring My dad in, please, I want to talk to him. So I'm all smiles. Dad, how did I do? He looked at me, says, how did you do? How did you do? He said, that woman. I said, what woman? The woman that had the three or four kids. He says, how could you do that? You can't do that to people. I said, she was so arrogant. She was rude. He said, she was scared. He said, do you know now that maybe she can't feed her kids tonight? Maybe she can't pay her rent, maybe she can't pay one of her bills. They'll turn the electricity off. You can't treat people that way. You weren't brought up that way. That set the stage for my entire judgeship. That first day on the bench with my dad giving me hell.

[Ed Mylett]

That is a great story. I was telling my wife, I was today, like, I haven't seen you this excited in a while, you know? And I said, it's just someone that I admire. And one thing my dad had. My dad was a. My dad was a recovering alcoholic, by the way, Judge. So he ended up being sober for 35 years. So I saw two dads. I saw the dad that wasn't living so good. And then I saw the dad that was. But no matter whether he had been drinking or not drinking, he was always giving and kind. And I think what I admire in you is I see the best of my dad and you. And I want you to talk about something. I'll say it, and then you tell me if I'm wrong. But my dad, when I'd see people, it was a homeless guy on the street, and I'm a little boy, I go, dad, that guy's got two arms and two legs. Like, why isn't he out getting a job for his family? Or why has he got his kids? And no matter what the situation was, ever, my dad would say, eddie, put yourself in their shoes. Try to walk in their shoes. And I don't think I've really even done a very good job of that in my life. I mean, maybe as I've gotten older, I have. But you seem to me to almost, when you're talking to someone or hearing their case or just interacting, you put yourself in their shoes. Well, am I right about that? You're smiling.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

So I was just about ready to give you that answer. And that's exactly what I did. I always placed myself in the shoes of the person that was before me. Because that first case in the court, when my father chastised me, you know, taught me so much. And he went on explaining to me, you know, you don't know what their life is like. Maybe she can't feed her kids tonight and so forth. And those were his words. Put yourself in her shoes. And I never forgot that. And I try to follow that as long as I was on the bench.

[Ed Mylett]

Did you ever go through a time in your life, Judge, honestly, where you had. You seem to be egoless almost. And I'm sure that there have been times in your life where, you know, as a young man in your 30s or 40s or 50s, in your. The prime of your career, and you're probably doing very well as a lawyer or whatever it was, have you always been humble, or is this something you've had to work on because there's people listening to the show, frankly, that they're.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

Starting to have some success.

[Ed Mylett]

And when you start to have some success or a couple bucks or some notoriety, you can begin to feel pretty good about yourself. Did you ever go through a season like that? And was ever a time that you had to be reminded of where you come from? Have you always held on or you're laughing again? So I guess there's an answer.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

Well, you know, my dad would wake my brother and I up at 4 in the morning to help him on the milkshark. Yep. He would say, if you don't want to do this the rest of your life, you better stay in college. You better go to college, you know, and. And then I saw how he treated people who couldn't pay their milk bill. You know, even though his company was a major company, would demand that after period of time, two or three weeks, if, if they didn't pay the bill that he was ordered to stop the milk. That was their rule. His rule was if they had children, he never stopped to milk. And many times he'd put money out of his own pocket and say, they're trying to pay. But he never gave me lessons in saying, this is how you treat people and this is how you treat people. But he did it by way of example. So I lived that. I saw how my dad treated people. I saw how my mom treated people. She fed people that were hungry. So all of that was. Was a great learning experience for me. But it wasn't a situation where I would sat down and said, okay, now this is how you treat people.

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[Ed Mylett]

You've had a bout with some health the last while now, and if I be serious with you, I'm curious, like, advice from a wise man. Like, we're all in the midst of doing our lives right now. They're listening to the show or watching it, and I hope you have 20 more years, but let's assume that you're in the final quarter. Right. You know, later in life, what do you believe? If you could give us wisdom and you could speak to someone younger. What makes a good life? What makes a good life for you?

[Judge Frank Caprio]

Yeah. A good life is service to others. That's a good life. Self aggrandizement is not a good life. Personal wealth is not a good life. But treating others with respect and dignity and helping when you can, that's a good life.

[Ed Mylett]

That's right to the point. Is there ever a story in court that you even to this day think of that brings you to tears? Someone in front of you that you thought, my gosh, this poor person. Is there one that stands out above others or a one that stands out?

[Judge Frank Caprio]

Well, I have several. Well, I'll tell you one. A woman came in and she couldn't pay her bill, and she actually became a little arrogant. And next thing I know, she told me that her child had died the day before. So I've had several situations like that. So my point is, you know, I know people have said to me, the law is the law, you know, and that's. It doesn't make any difference. That's their rule. My rule is, you know, I'm dealing with another human being and I take all of those factors into consideration.

[Ed Mylett]

You say compassion is action. What does that mean?

[Judge Frank Caprio]

Well, a lot of people talk compassion. Yeah. But acting on compassion is something different. You know, if you see a person who's hung on their luck, and they can't afford a meal for their family. You tell everybody, boy, that poor family is so terrible. You know, they don't. They can't feed their children. That's. That's not active compassion. Act of compassion is you help them out.

[Ed Mylett]

When you look at. Not to be political, but. So we're not going to be political here. I don't do that here, but I consider you like a leader. You led the courtroom when you were in it. And then, you know, hundreds of millions of views of clips of you. And a lot of people that watch my show or listen to it are leaders of a family or they're leaders of their business, or they're aspiring leaders. And it just seems like compassion, kindness, empathy seems to be maybe not as rewarded or as acknowledged as a priority as it once was and should be. And it's not always the examples we see from either political party or around the world. I just wonder what you think makes a great leader. And I know that's not in the book, but it's a question I wanted to ask you because I consider you someone who's led in many different areas of your life. You've led your family, you've led in the courtroom. You've been a leader for people's emotions and the way they view the world on social media, we think makes a great leader.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

At the end of the day, we're judged by how we treat others. That's leading. And how we treat others is doing. It's by way of example, and that's how we treat others. I. I know so many instances where people preach one thing and treat people differently, you know, and I see it on the. I see it on the bench. Unfortunately, with judges, that happens, you know, so. But I think at the end of the day, how we treat other people is really how we're going to be judged.

[Ed Mylett]

When you read your work, there's a lot of family in it. And I'll tell you a thing on my dad I wanted to ask you about. I wish I could ask my dad this, and I can't, so I'm asking you. As I got older, I would look at my dad, and he didn't have a lot of friends. He had some, but not a lot. And I used to think, you know, how do you get through life and not have 85 or 90 or 100 friends? You know, like, how.

[Ed Mylett's Co-host or Producer]

How is that?

[Ed Mylett]

It's when I was younger, and then I asked my dad, I said, dad, how come you don't have any friends? He goes, you know, Eddie, friends are important, but family's different. And family is what you're going to have as you get older. Maybe there's a few friends that are chosen family, but it's family. And it makes me emotional to say this to you. But as I've gotten older, my friend circle has shrunk considerably. There's not as many that are there forever. They're there for a season in life. And there's just these values in life that I feel like were more centrist 40, 50, 60 years ago, which was family. And no one seems to not be talked about anymore. And I'm reading your book and I'm like, family this, family this. You know, your dad in the book is in there throughout and your mom. And I'm just wondering what you would say to us listening to these wise words about the importance of family.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

The basic unit of society is the family unit. There's no question about that. And our first teachers in life are our parents. They're teaching us by way of example on how they treat other people. At the end of the day, we're judged not by how much money we make, but how much we help others. That's basically what it's all about, service to others.

[Ed Mylett]

You think Tup would be proud of you?

[Judge Frank Caprio]

I hope so.

[Ed Mylett]

I know that Tup is his dad, by the way.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

He was proud of me the first day I came to court. I'm not sure about after that. No, he was very proud of me. Tup was a very unique individual. He would help anybody and everybody. You know, that was his life. His life. His motto was be of service to others.

[Ed Mylett]

Well, I think he's damn proud of you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. Now I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment.

[Ed Mylett]

Of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. New customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of network's busy. Taxes and fees extra. See mintmobile.com I know our time's limited, but I want to ask you about cycles. You know, they run through families too. And I assume you know when you're in court, there's some through lines that are common, not always, but poverty, addiction, trauma, stress, you've seen a lot of that. What do you think can break that cycle more powerfully than a courtroom or a law can? Is there something that can break through those cycles?

[Judge Frank Caprio]

I've said earlier, the basic unit of society is the family unit, and that's where it all comes from. It's very difficult to be exposed as a youngster in the early years of your life. To be exposed and seeing certain behavior, you know, that's not good, and then all of a sudden, you don't treat people that way. Our greatest goal in life was to be of service to others. So many times people don't have that opportunity to have a loving house, a loving father, a loving mother, loving grandparents, loving cousins. My mother was one of eight. My father was one of ten. I had over 40 cousins. I had 18 aunts and uncles. And I can say without fear of contradiction that at any time I could walk into any of my aunts, my houses, or uncle's houses and say, I'm hungry and I get fed. And if I didn't say I was hungry, they'd ask me, are you hungry?

[Ed Mylett]

That sounds like my family, too. This is the hardest question you're going to get asked in any of your interviews, because it's not in the book. So I'm going to push you on a day you're not even feeling your best, but I'm going to push you. Is there something that you believed when you were young that you changed your mind about as you got older and you don't believe anymore and you've changed your belief about something? So the book's about lessons you learned when you were young through your upbringing. But is there something you, as a little boy or a young man or early in your career, believed that was.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

Important.

[Ed Mylett]

That you no longer believe that you changed your mind about?

[Judge Frank Caprio]

Well, first of all, I've said this in so many different ways and so many times is that my big experiences in life came from my dad and how I was brought up, from my mother and my. And my father. And those are lessons that you just don't discard. They're deeply embedded in me for the rest of my life. And I try to displayed those qualities with my children as well. I'm not sure if I was successful, but I think I was. I was sick of hearing people say, yeah, my kids. I just can't control my kids. What do you mean you can't control your kids? You know, then I, you know, then get into a long conversation. How do you treat your kids? What do you do for Them? Do you take them out? You know, the. Do you ask them how they're feeling? Do you spend special time with them? Do you take the Fenway Park? I mean, do you do all of this stuff? You know, that's what family life is all about, showing love. It's not enough to say to your kids before you go to bed at night, I love you, and then during the day, ignore them. It's all in that personal relationship. I grew up knowing that no matter what the circumstances in life were, it didn't make any difference what they were, that if I was in trouble, my father would be there and my mother as well. I never was at that point, incidentally, I. I never was at that point.

[Ed Mylett]

You made me think when you said that. I wonder how many people don't feel that. Don't have that.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

No, I was going to say, I think the disintegration of the family unit is the sin of this country. Gosh.

[Ed Mylett]

I think you're right. I think you're right. Last question for you, by the way. God bless you. You're such a special man. I'm gonna pray that you feel a little bit better, too. I want you to know that, Fran. I will keep praying. I know it's. I know it's a rough time. How do you want to be remembered? Or do you not care?

[Judge Frank Caprio]

I want to be remembered as someone that helped other people simply. Or a big, long speech. Someone who helped others, particularly those in need.

[Ed Mylett]

I want to tell you something. You did that today and you weren't feeling up to it. And, you know, you said something earlier. People talk, a good talk, but at 88 years old and going through what you're going through in your health right now and not feeling your best today, you do it unconditionally. And that's character. It's not. It's not just when you feel like it or when conditions are great or when people treat you kindly to you, so you treat them kindly back. It's unconditional. And I'm so honored I got time with you today. Thank you for helping so many people today, Judge. And I want to make sure everybody holds you up in prayer number one and number two, since we're in the business of books, let's make sure they go get compassion in the court. Hold it up again, young man. There it is.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

I just happen to have one here.

[Ed Mylett]

Life changing stories from America's nicest judge. And maybe the nicest person I've ever met, too. So, Judge Frank Caprio, thank you for today. God bless you, my friend.

[Judge Frank Caprio]

Thank you very much.

[Ed Mylett]

All right, everybody.

[Ed Mylett's Co-host or Producer]

So what a gift. And I have to tell you, I've done a lot of interviews in my life. And his inherent goodness shined through even as he was going through what was a very painful day, to be candid with you. I asked him multiple times before we recorded that day, do you want to do this? And this beautiful man said, absolutely yes. He powered through all of the discomfort and lost his life just several days after that conversation. That's how you know you want to have life of service. And he told us all in that interview, justice without compassion isn't justice at all. If there's anything he represented, it was compassion. And you saw that shine through in the interview. And again, I just want to remind you that we're going to make a donation to his favorite cause and charity on behalf of our organization. And you're welcome to do the same by clicking the link that you see in your show notes or below here. Just want to say God bless you to everybody and I hope you share this episode with as many people as you possibly can to honor this great man. God bless you.

[Ed Mylett]

This is the Ed Milan show.