By Michael Fisch
law briefs
Suffolk Law’s true crime fans may recognize a familiar face on Netflix. Rosemary Scapicchio, BSBA ’86, JD ’91, is featured in the 2020 series Trial 4, which documents the conviction and eventual exoneration of Sean Ellis for the 1993 murder of Boston police detective John Mulligan. Two trials ended in mistrial; Ellis was convicted in a third. Scapicchio represented Ellis in 2015 in a motion for a fourth trial, eventually causing the conviction to be overturned. After Scapicchio’s effort, prosecutors decided in 2018 not to try Ellis again, and in 2021, a judge dismissed Ellis’ conviction on a related firearms charge. Ellis spent 22 years in prison before his murder conviction was overturned.
In a separate case, Scapicchio is scheduled to argue before the Supreme Judicial Court on behalf of defendant Jason Robinson. The case hinges on whether the state’s ban on mandatory life sentences without parole for first-degree murder should be extended beyond juveniles to include 18- to 20-year-olds. She is also representing the Steiner family, which was terrorized by eBay executives in 2019 after writing a newsletter that criticized the company’s policies and wasteful spending.
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Courtesy of the law offices of Rosemary Scapicchio
winter 2023
