“When you help the poor, you’re lending to God and He will repay you." ~ Proverbs 19:17
"Order in the court!" Judge
Caprisio rapped his gavel twice and instructed the bailiff to call the next
case. A disheveled young woman named Dasani stepped to the podium. She isn’t
too different from many other defendants that the stately judge has overseen.
She has technically violated the law, but not for reasons under her control.
She’s around 27 years old and has been living in her car up
until recently. She’s before the judge because a Traffic Control officer
“booted” her car. Now it’s immobile. Not having transportation is plenty bad
enough on its own, but even worse when it doubles as the only roof over her
head.
Dasani added that she just got a job cleaning hotel rooms
and was hoping to ‘work out some sort of payment plan’ to at least keep her
car, one of the last pieces of her life.
Known for his kind and caring behavior, Judge Caprisio listens
patiently to the poor woman though he’s heard stories like hers hundreds of
times in his 37 years on the bench.
His voice is gentle as he gives her a sentence of $400. The
mandatory boot fee is $100 plus $300 for the ticket and court fees. “How much
can you pay now?” he asks softly.
With tears streaming down her cheeks, Dasani claims to have only
$5 to her name, he couldn’t in good conscience take the last of her meager
funds.
Then the Judge rendered a judgment that would leave her
speechless. He’ll pay off the $350 for her with money from the Filomena fund, a
charitable fund named after Judge Caprisio’s late mother, from whom he probably
inherited his compassion. The fund supports people unable to pay for traffic
violations from small donations by people around the world.
Judge Caprisio gave her a month to pay the remaining $50.
Should the circumstances decide that she still couldn’t pay it by then, he’ll
probably pay that off too. But that seldom happens.
Almost unable to speak, she said, “Thank you so much your
honor, thank you.” Tears of sadness turned to smiles of gratitude.
But there was one more act cooking in this courtroom drama. As
Dasani turned to leave, a stranger in the courtroom approached the bench with
an offer. “I play guitar in restaurants for free food,” he said, offering her
the free meal he’d get that night.
Kindness breeds kindness – pass it on!
"Lord, let me never forget all that you
do for me on a daily basis. Lead me to live my life as a testament to Your many
incredible blessings, that Your love may be known and experienced by all those
I serve. Amen
