“When a broke mom has to appear in front of a judge for a parking ticket, she brings her daughter with her. The judge takes one look at the child, invites her to sit with him, and asks her if she is hungry.
When the little girl says she is, he makes a shocking decision.
In Providence, Rhode Island, a young mother walked towards the courthouse with her six-year-old daughter’s hand tightly clasped in hers. At first glance, her court appearance wasn’t serious; it was for a parking violation and the fine was only $100. But for her, it was a smaller fortune, enough to make her seriously worried.
They entered the courtroom nervously. The mom scanned the faces of the public and court officials; in her eyes was a pleading look. Janice, her daughter, was oblivious to the gravity of the situation. She looked around the courtroom with wide-eyed innocence, having no idea what the potential impact of this day could be on her and her mother’s finances.
The mother sat silently, her head bowed. She practiced her plea and clung to a sliver of hope, hope that her circumstances would sway the judgment in her favor. She was a single mom raising her child alone, a waitress that meant long hours for a meager income and daily struggles to provide for Janice. On the day of the incident, she had made a quick stop to pick up medication for her daughter. She had pulled onto a curb with the intent to dash into the drugstore, pick up the package, and dash back. Now there was a ticket, and she was back on the edge of poverty.
Judge Frank Caprio walked into the courtroom and took his seat. He immediately noticed the young mother and daughter. Judge Caprio smiled at the little girl; he loved children in the courtroom, they always lightened the otherwise somber atmosphere.
When her case was called, the mom stepped forward. She spoke with a steady voice, but the underlying stress was unmistakable. She explained the circumstances leading up to the parking violation as transparently and honestly as she could.
“Your honor, it was a mistake,” she said. She recounted the events of the day and how urgent Janice’s medication was. She had just finished her shift at the first of her three daily jobs and had only a few minutes to get a whole lot done. The mother measured her words; she didn’t want to talk in too much detail about her financial struggles, not while her daughter was present, but she did hint at the depth of her predicament.
Judge Caprio listened intently, as he always did. His eyes occasionally shifted from the mom to Janice. He sensed the mom’s struggles and respected the way she addressed them. He also recognized the balance she was so desperately trying to maintain. On one hand, she wanted to admit her mistake and let the law take its course, but she couldn’t afford it. On the other hand, she tried her best to shield the kid from the harsh realities of their life.
Judge Caprio looked from mom to Janice and back to the mom again. Then, with a twinkle in his eye, Judge Caprio turned his attention to Janice. He smiled at her, and she smiled back shyly. Then he said, “Janice, would you like to come up here and help me?” His voice was warm, like a grandfather’s.
The courtroom was accustomed to the usual routine of legal proceedings, always tense and sometimes boring. This move by the presiding judge caught everyone by surprise. Janice hesitated, but she was curious. She looked at her mom for approval, got a nod, and headed towards the bench.
Judge Caprio gave her a small stool to stand on so he could look her in the eye. Once the little girl was settled, he turned to her and asked, “So, how has your day been, Janice?” His soft voice invited the girl to trust him. She smiled slightly and said, “It’s okay.”
Then he told her there was a bit of a situation with her mom’s parking ticket. He explained the circumstances to her in terms she could understand, no legal jargon and nothing a six-year-old couldn’t grasp. With all the eyes in the courtroom fixed on the little girl, he then said she had to help him make the decision.
First, he told her they could have her mom pay the full fine. The second option was to have her pay only a part of it. Or, if she had any ideas, he told Janice they could do something else too.
The usual formality was stripped from the courtroom, and everybody now watched Judge Caprio’s interaction with the girl. Janice pulled her little forehead into a frown; the weight of the entire decision rested on her young shoulders, and she seemed to realize it.
After much thought, she turned to Judge Caprio and told him she thought her mom should pay only $50. When Janice spoke, her voice was clear and confident. She had made a fair and thoughtful decision, and it impressed Judge Caprio. A ripple of laughter flitted through the courtroom; everybody nodded with respect at the young girl’s fair judgment. It was easy to see the depth of her perspective on fairness and responsibility.
Above all, the judge’s interaction with Janice had broken the stifled atmosphere. Judge Caprio smiled with his eyes; he nodded gravely and accepted Janice’s decision with a nod, thanking her for the role she played in today’s proceedings. He told her he thought she was as fair as he would have been, and she beamed at the compliment.
But then he got a twinkle in his eyes. Judge Caprio was still very aware of the mother’s predicament, and being the man he was, he wanted to help. He wanted to ease her burden and, at the same time, show Janice that the law was something to be respected, not feared.
So he leaned forward and did something that took Janice’s mom’s breath away. He gave Janice another unexpected option.
“There’s one more option,” he said. “Are you hungry? Have you eaten today?”
Everybody in the courtroom was taken by surprise; the judge was taking a tack here that nobody could have predicted but Janice. It was the most natural question in the world; the judge was right, she was hungry, and no, she hadn’t eaten yet. She told Judge Caprio so.
“Okay,” Judge said. “What if I told you I would dismiss the ticket completely if your mom made one single commitment?”
Janice wasn’t sure what was going on, but her mom breathed a sigh of relief. Then Janice asked the judge what the commitment was. With a kind, gentle smile, he told her if her mom promised to take her out for breakfast, it would quash the ticket.
The offer hung in the air for a while. Again, Janice screwed her face in a bunch; she looked at her mom and then at Judge Caprio again. Then she slowly nodded and said, “Okay.”
By this time, folks in the courtroom were unsure whether to smile or cry. Everybody was delighted by Judge Caprio’s proposal and, at the same time, blown away by the easily fair way he applied the law. After all, the law was there to protect people, not hurt them.
The judge’s empathy and kindness had touched the hearts of everyone present in the courtroom. Janice’s mom was visibly moved as the reality of the situation hit home. A few hours earlier, this court appearance had laid like a mountain before her. She had convinced herself that she would have to pay the ticket and had no idea where she would find the money.
But now, her daughter had been treated to a seat on a real judge’s bench and had even been allowed to make a fair judgment. Judge Caprio nodded solemnly at Janice.
“I think you’ve made a wise choice, Janice,” he said. “You’ve shown us how important kindness and understanding are.”
His words and example were a powerful lesson for all present. It showed that there was something profoundly moral about compassion’s place in the justice system. As the court adjourned, Janice and her mom exited hand in hand. They weren’t simply leaving behind the legal dispute; they were leaving with a significant life lesson.
A simple act of judicial kindness had changed the way they thought about law enforcement, and in the process, Judge Caprio had created two powerful advocates for his view of the law. Sometimes, the spirit of the law is more important than the letter of the law.”
What a great story! Do you think this was a fair ruling? Have you ever been in a courtroom where a judge had shown such unexpected compassion?
