Murder trial of Queens immigration lawyer begins — Queens Daily Eagle

By Noah Powelson

The trial for the murder of a well-known Queens immigration attorney began this week in Queens County Criminal Court.

Lawyers for 27-year-old Xiaoning Zhang are trying to prove that the Chinese citizen was not of sound mind when she allegedly killed Jim Li, a prominent Queens immigration lawyer.

Zhang – who at times shouted at judges and lawyers on the first day of the trial – is charged with the premeditated murder of Li, a well-known local immigration lawyer and democracy activist who refused to represent her. She has pleaded not guilty.

On Monday, jurors heard opening statements from the prosecution and defense in Queens Criminal Court.

The prosecution's argument focuses not only on proving that Zhang murdered Li, but also that she was of sound mind and in full control of her actions when she did so.

Zhang's public defender, Scott Celestin, argued that she suffered from severe, untreated schizophrenia and that at the time of Li's death, she was unable to distinguish between reality and paranoid delusions.

The prosecution, led by Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Zawistowski, told the jury it had plenty of evidence that Zhang was well aware of her actions when she allegedly stabbed the 66-year-old lawyer multiple times in the neck and chest in his Flushing office.

Li was taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police said two kitchen knives were found at the scene. Li briefly represented Zhang while she sought political asylum, but ultimately declined to take her case.

Lawyers for both sides will also attempt to paint their own narrative of two separate incidents between Li and Zhang that occurred in March 2022. These are an alleged assault that occurred the week before Li's death and the alleged murder itself.

Specifically, it concerns an altercation between Li and Zhang on March 11, during which she is accused of attempting to strangle Li. Prosecutors said that when she was finally pulled away by others in Li's office, she promised to kill the lawyer and said, “I will give my life for your life.”

Zawistowski argues that the alleged threat, together with her actions on the day of the murder three days later, prove that it was a premeditated murder.

He says prosecutors plan to call a range of witnesses into the courtroom, including officers, paramedics, detectives, bodycam footage and eyewitnesses, to prove that Zhang Li not only killed, but committed premeditated murder.

Among the witnesses the prosecution will call are two of Li's close associates and colleagues who witnessed both incidents in 2022.

“This is not a case where you have to determine who committed the crime or where it took place,” Zawistowski said. “The evidence will show that she had the motive and the opportunity and that this was a premeditated and calculated murder. This was not a moment of mental breakdown.”