Kriti Mehrotra
‘Trial 4’ is Netflix’s latest true-crime documentary series – one that is extremely powerful and relevant, considering the current political climate. Chronicling the tale of Sean Ellis, it examines how racial injustice, the rampant culture of corruption within the police, and conflicting opinions led to 2-decade-long incarceration of a man who always claimed to be innocent in the 1993 murder of a Boston Police Department officer, Detective John Mulligan.
Not one to hold back in making it clear about what she feels is right and wrong, as we see in this eight-part series, is Sean’s attorney, Rosemary Scapicchio. In some ways, the criminal justice attorney is singlehandedly responsible for getting Sean to where he is today. Let’s find out more about her!
Who Is Rosemary Scapicchio?
From Brighton, Boston, Massachusetts, Rosemary Scapicchio knew that she wanted to be a lawyer ever since she was in high school. Growing up with her mother and a litany of siblings, which she was right in the middle of, Rosemary knew hard work from day 1. And as she was surrounded by mostly women throughout her life and had to work to pay for her tuition herself, whether it be for school or college, she realized quite early on that she wanted to help others.
When Rosemary was putting herself through law school at Suffolk University, one of her mentors introduced her to criminal defense and had her work with her, following which Rosemary knew that she’d found her area of specialty. After passing the bar exam, Rosemary opened up her own practice, focusing primarily on criminal defense. Her other areas of work include civil rights, litigation and appeals, post-trial convictions, and federal criminal charges.
In 2003, she caught the attention of Sean Ellis through a high profile case of hers. When Sean tried to talk to her and explain his predicament, she was honest, telling him that she had a lot on her plate and could only come to see him after more than a year, and even then, she might not take up his case. Sean agreed, and when Rosemary did finally manage to catch up with him in early 2004, she was floored by the extent to which she could see his innocence.
Thus, Rosemary Scapicchio worked tirelessly for years to get Sean out and secure a re-trial, which she managed to achieve in 2015, when the judge granted Sean another chance to prove his innocence, citing new information that was not heard by jury members at any of his previous trials. And in 2018, the District Attorney’s office dropped all charges against her client, making it a big win for her.
Where Is Rosemary Scapicchio Now?
Rosemary Scapicchio is still a practicing criminal defense attorney with her own private practice in Boston, Massachusetts. In fact, she is one of the most top-rated lawyers in her field, made evident by her being named a Super Lawyer by her peers from 2003-2020. With almost three decades of experience and several awards for her zealous advocacy for her clients, Rosemary has been quite successful in her career, to say the least. In her years in the courtroom, she has proved police misconduct in several cases, questioned forensic evidence that seemed doubtful, and exposed withheld exculpatory evidence to free her clients of their wrongful convictions.
Apart from Sean Ellis, Rosemary’s clients over the years have included Shawn Drumgold, who was convicted and exonerated of murdering a 12-year-old girl; Jameel Williams, a gang member who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the shooting slaying of a Milton High School graduate; David Evans, a Quincy native, convicted of manslaughter in the death of a Cape Cod man; and most recently, Celestino Vicente, charged with assault and the illegal possession of a firearm, whose case was dismissed in August 2020 after police misconduct was revealed by Rosemary. So, with all this, we think it’s safe to say that the Law Office of Rosemary C. Scapicchio is doing wonders.
Read More: Where Is Trial 4’s Sean Ellis Now?
