Mindfulness and Juvenile Justice with Judge Frank Szymanski

In this episode of Between the Briefs, Adrian Cea speaks with Judge Frank Szymanski, a longtime juvenile court judge in Detroit. Frank shares how trauma shapes behaviour, why courts must ask “what was done to them?”, and how mindfulness-based interventions in schools and courts cut costs while improving outcomes. From yoga to evidence-backed meditation programmes, his focus is simple: deliver peace first, and better decisions follow.

With decades of experience in law and education, Judge Frank Szymanski has become a leading voice in conscious justice and youth rehabilitation. As a juvenile court judge, author of Identity Design: Design the Identity You Need to Get the Life You Want, and a motivational speaker, he blends legal insight with human development. Beyond the courtroom, Frank works with schools, community programmes, and mindfulness organisations to build systems that prioritise prevention over punishment. His ongoing mission: bring peace to chaotic lives and teach both citizens and professionals to train the mind daily, because, as he says, “our minds deserve the same care as our teeth.”

Highlights:

[00:00] Intro

[00:53] From teacher and hockey coach to lawyer and judge

[05:00] Discovering the real goal: bringing peace to chaotic lives

[07:00] Writing Identity Design and the power of ownership and service

[10:00] Why yoga became his bridge between anger and calm

[13:00] Visiting the Enlightened Sentencing Project in St. Louis and witnessing transformation

[16:00] Teaching meditation to juvenile offenders and seeing real results

[18:00] Presenting mindfulness to skeptics: the toothbrush analogy

[21:00] The science behind 80% negative thoughts and emotional regulation as a superpower

[23:00] Case study: how a Florida school turned an F into an A through daily mindfulness

[25:00] Preventing incarceration by building peace early in schools and communities

[29:00] The biggest misconception about juvenile court: “what was done to them”

[33:00] Why empathy, listening, and service make better lawyers than knowing the law alone

[37:00] Judge Frank’s “7–60 Mad Minute” mental training plan

[39:00] Closing thoughts and how to connect with Judge Frank

Quotes:

“When a kid comes into juvenile court, the question is not just what have they done, you gotta ask, well, what was done to them.”
“These people that are in this courtroom, they need to experience some peace because their lives are so chaotic and so traumatic. My whole drive ever since I became a juvenile court judge has been to find ways to deliver some sort of sense of peace.”
“I tell people, when you get control of your emotions, that’s like a superpower. That is amazing. And this is what meditation can do for us.”
“We brush our teeth every day. Why don’t we do something every day for our mind? Isn’t our mind a lot more important than our molars and our bicuspids?”
“We spend thousands of dollars on these kids that nobody paid attention to helping until they were already carjacking somebody or they murdered somebody… I wanna put juvenile judges and courts outta business because if all the schools start doing these things, they won’t want to go out and carjack somebody.”
“You gotta know the law, but the main thing you need to know if you’re gonna be a lawyer, it’s a people business. And to be a great lawyer, you have to be a great listener.”
“There’s an old saying that if you’re too busy to take 10 minutes to meditate, then you should take 20.”