'I wear a heart under my robe'

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Judge Frank Caprio, who presides over “Caught in Providence,” is beloved by viewers around the world.

And here’s one reason why.

“When I make a decision it can effect someone’s livelihood, their life and their families lives,” Caprio told The Post. “One thing I’ve committed myself to is to treat people with respect, compassion and understanding … and I try to place myself in the shoes of the people before me.

“I don’t wear a badge under my robe — I wear a heart.”

Caprio, 86, has morphed into a social media superstar via “Caught in Providence,” which started in 1987 on local access television in Providence, RI and, in 2018, launched in syndication; it airs new content on Facebook Watch and its YouTube Channel (repeats air on Law & Crime) and has snared three Daytime Emmy Award nominations.

There is no studio audience, only the live court proceedings, “so we differ substantially from the other court shows,” Caprio said.

Caprio, a Providence Municipal Court Judge since 1985 — he’s now Chief Judge Emeritus — has been called “The Nicest Judge in the World” for his empathetic demeanor, amassing over 20 million social media followers and more than 6 billion video views.

He credits his Italian-immigrant parents — father Antonio and mother Filomena — for instilling life lessons while raising him, older brother Antonio and kid brother Joe in a cold-water flat (sans hot running water) in the Federal Hill section of Providence.

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“My dad was a milkman. He’d wake my brother [Antonio] and I up at 4 o’clock in the morning and say to us, ‘If you don’t want to do this for the rest of your life, you’d better stay in school and get a college education.’ That never left us,” he said. “His company had a rule that if people didn’t pay their bill after two weeks he was supposed to stop their milk — and I can remember my father saying, ‘If they have kids, I am not stopping their milk.’

“Many times he would take a dollar or two out of his own pocket to help them,” he said. “It’s what he taught us — not by his words, but by his actions.”

Caprio has an especially soft spot for children in his courtroom. “It can be an intimidating experience … and that’s why I bring them up on the bench to participate, and be a leader in the decision,” he said. “Many times I ask them for help in deciding what penalties, if any, to impose against their parents.

“They give me wonderful answers and are very honest,” he said. “If I were to yell and scream at everyone in the courtoom, demand payment from their parents (which I know they cannot afford) and be strict and cold, it would likely traumatize the children for the rest of their lives.”

Caprio and his wife, Joyce, have been married for 59 years and have five children: Frank, David, Marissa, John and Paul.

Like their father, Frank and David, both lawyers, have served the public — Frank was General Treasurer of Rhode Island and ran for governor in 2010; David served in the Rhode Island House of Representatives.

“Caught in Providence” is a family affair; the series was created by Caprio’s brother, “Uncle Joe” Caprio — who founded and runs its production company, CITYLIFE Productions. Uncle Joe and his wife, Irene, are executive producers and Caprio’s sons, John and David, are producers.

“This is not something I can rehearse, because I never know who’s coming before me [for a case],” Caprio said of “Caught in Providence.” “So I don’t know if I’m going to have 80 people or 10 people, and when people appear before me, particularly in today’s world, so many of them are suffering hardships. Many times they’re single parents who have limited income and are having trouble supporting their children. So I place myself in their shoes: what would I do in their situation? What would my dad do in this situation?

“I take into consideration people’s personal circumstances,” he said. “It’s amazing that so many times not only have we mitigated a fine and sometimes paid it but we’ve … become involved with some of these people in their personal lives as well in an attempt to help them out.”

Caprio remains grounded to his Providence roots and, thanks to his television and social media exposure, he’s been recognized while on trips around the world (including Abu Dhabi and Italy).

“In my office I have a picture taken of my brother, who’s three years older, and me, when I was 10,” he said. “It’s one of those days when we were up at 4 in the morning and I look like I was starved to death and disheveled.

“I look at that photo every day … in my heart … that’s who I am,” he said. “That’s how I was when we were kids. My father on one shoulder and my mother on the other giving me advice all the time. That’s where I live. The recognition [from ‘Caught in Providence’] has never made me somebody else.

“I’m just a kid named Frankie from an area in Providence called Federal Hill where immigrants from Italy settled — and that has never left me.”

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