John Rosen is a Canadian criminal defence lawyer, who has defended murder trials in Ontario, and perhaps in Canadian history. He has defended some notorious criminals in Canadian history, including
Paul Bernardo
Paul Kenneth Bernardo (born August 27, 1964), also known as The Scarborough Rapist and The Schoolgirl Killer, is a Canadian serial killer and serial rapist. He is known for initially committing a series of rapes in Scarborough, Ontario, a subu ...
,
Pat and Angelo Musitano,
Min Chen,
Paul Volpe,
Johnny Papalia
John Joseph Papalia (; March 18, 1924 – May 31, 1997), also known as Johnny Pops Papalia or "The Enforcer", was an Italian-Canadian crime boss of the Papalia crime family based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The Papalia crime family is one o ...
, Carmen Barillaro and
Pietro Scarcella
Pietro "Peter" Scarcella (; born 12 July 1950) is an Italian-Canadian mobster based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, linked to the Sicilian Rizzuto crime family of Montreal, Quebec.
In the 1970s, Scarcella became the driver of Toronto mobster, Pau ...
. He is a partner in the Toronto law firm of Rosen Naster LLP.
Early life
John Rosen's grandparents immigrated to Toronto from Poland in the early 1900s. He is the eldest of six children, whom his father supported with his Bay Street dry-cleaning shop, Imperial Cleaners, across from the Toronto Coach Terminal. At age 16, Rosen began driving the dry-cleaning delivery truck after school.
Professional career
John Rosen received his LL.B. from
Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...
in 1968. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1970. He is a member of a number of professional associations, including the Advocates Society, the Criminal Lawyers' Association, the
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is an American criminal defense organization.
Members include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, active U.S. military defense counsel, law professors, judges, and defe ...
in the US, and
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
and
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...
s.
Rosen is well known for the notoriety of the accused criminals he defends. He is also known for the ruthlessness of his defence of persons accused of odious crimes. In one case, he was criticized for making a murder victim seem like a criminal.
Rosen successfully defended a man charged with second degree murder, where the prosecution withdrew the charge on the eve of trial following John's appearance in the Supreme Court of Canada in the related case of Benson v. Brown, which set the ground rules for allowing access to lawyer/client confidential information regarding another suspect previously cleared by the police.
High-Profile Cases
Among Rosen's high-profile cases were:
*
Paul Bernardo
Paul Kenneth Bernardo (born August 27, 1964), also known as The Scarborough Rapist and The Schoolgirl Killer, is a Canadian serial killer and serial rapist. He is known for initially committing a series of rapes in Scarborough, Ontario, a subu ...
, infamous Canadian serial killer and rapist.
* Defence of
Pietro Scarcella
Pietro "Peter" Scarcella (; born 12 July 1950) is an Italian-Canadian mobster based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, linked to the Sicilian Rizzuto crime family of Montreal, Quebec.
In the 1970s, Scarcella became the driver of Toronto mobster, Pau ...
, charged in the 2004 shooting of a Vaughan sandwich shop that left Louise Russo paralyzed.
*
Min Chen, a Chinese visa student at the time, was found guilt of the kidnapping and murder of nine year-old Cecilia Zhang.
* Defence of Chuang Li, an ex-employee charged with stabbing 4 former co-workers.
See also
*
Crime in Toronto
*
Crime in Canada
Crime in Canada is generally considered low overall. Under the Canadian constitution, the power to establish criminal law and rules of investigation is vested in the federal Parliament. The provinces share responsibility for law enforcement (altho ...
References
External links
- Rosen Naster LLP
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosen, John
Year of birth missing (living people)
Lawyers in Ontario
Living people
People from Toronto
Osgoode Hall Law School alumni
University of Toronto alumni
York University alumni
Canadian lawyers
Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent