Frank Caprio is a former Chief Judge of the Providence Municipal Court in Rhode Island, best known for his compassionate and humorous approach to justice. He gained widespread recognition through the TV and social media series "Caught in Providence," which features real cases from his courtroom. His fair and empathetic handling of cases, especially those involving struggling individuals, has earned him a global fanbase. His new book "Compassion in the Court" is already a best seller.
Key Facts About Judge Frank Caprio
Full Name: Francesco Caprio
Born: November 23, 1936, in Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Career: Served as Chief Judge of the Providence Municipal Court for over 30 years. His courtroom cases became famous for his kindness, often waiving fines for those in financial distress.
Caught in Providence was originally a local program but gained national and international popularity through YouTube and social media.
Education: Attended Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts.
Other Roles: Former chairman of the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education.
Practiced law privately in addition to his judicial duties. His philosophy of justice emphasizes fairness, understanding, and second chances, which has resonated with millions of people around the world.
Frank Sonnenberg is an American author, speaker, and thought leader known for his work on leadership, personal values, and business ethics. He has written extensively about the importance of integrity, trust, and moral character in both personal and professional life.
Key Facts About Frank Sonnenberg
Career: A widely respected thought leader in leadership, values, and ethical decision-making. His work emphasizes the role of trust, accountability, and strong moral principles in success. He has been recognized as one of America’s “Top 100 Thought Leaders” in Trust.
Books: Follow Your Conscience, Managing With a Conscience, Soul Food: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life, The Path to a Meaningful Life
Writing & Influence: Frank runs a well-regarded blog on leadership and values, reaching millions. His insights have been widely shared in business circles and self-improvement communities.
Social Media often gets a bad rap. We tend to forget that 'the Internet' was invented as a result of several technological developments over time, rather than a single event. However, key milestones include:1960s: The foundation of the internet was laid with the creation of ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), developed by the U.S. Department of Defense's ARPA (now DARPA). The first successful message transmission between computers happened on October 29, 1969.
1970s: In 1973, Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn developed the TCP/IP protocol, which became the fundamental communication system of the internet.
In 1974, the term "Internet" was first used in a research paper referring to a global network.
1983: The official birth of the internet—ARPANET switched to using TCP/IP, making it a fully functional network.
1990: Tim Berners-Lee developed the World Wide Web (WWW), which made the internet accessible to the public by introducing web pages and browsers.
The internet, as we know it today, evolved from these early foundations into a global network connecting billions of people. If there was no internet, there would be no social media, no books on Audible, I would not have this Sunday Blog. And there would be no Coffee In the Clouds video podcast.
I met Frank Sonnenberg as 'friends' on Facebook. I met Frank T. Caprio (the son of Judge Frank Caprio) on LinkedIn. One of my favorite things is to host "Zoom Talks" with authors, promoting their books and works. My video podcast interview with Frank Sonnenberg is 'in the can' as they say. I hope to get Judge Frank 'Caught on Zoom' later this month. See what I did there?
I run the (now) Global Distance Learning Association (GlobalDLA.org) and we would not exist without the internet. We are democratizing education on a global basis via disruptive technology.Via tools like Zoom, we can change lives, and even save lives (telemedicine). We started doing 'distance learning' in 1983, long before the internet even existed. I remember when we mailed VHS tapes and audio books - THAT was state of the art technology back in the day. As of this blog in 2025 there are 174K+ schools across North America in the DLA community. We now service students living all around the world, in every time zone. And we reach the alumni of these schools. And of course, thanks to the power of the internet, we can be....
Frank with all of them.