Nora Grace-Flood photo
Attorney Kevin Smith with soon-to-be ex-client Qinxuan Pan.
More than two years after allegedly shooting and killing Yale graduate student Kevin Jiang in East Rock, the prime suspect in that high-profile murder case has moved to drop his high-profile criminal defense attorney — and intends to apply for representation by a public defender.
That was the outcome of a brief state court hearing at 235 Church St. Monday morning in the state’s ongoing criminal prosecution of Qinxuan Pan. He is the former MIT artificial intelligence researcher who has been charged with the Feb. 6, 2021 murder of 26-year-old Yale grad student Kevin Jiang near Jiang’s fiancee’s apartment on Lawrence Street in East Rock.
Pan is currently represented by Norm Pattis and Kevin Smith, the former of whom is a nationally-recognized criminal defense attorney known for taking on controversial clients such as conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. On Monday, Kevin Smith informed the court of Pan’s intention to end his contract with the private firm as the case moves forward.
Smith said he and his team received notice on Friday that Pan was looking to “discharge our services” and replace his private lawyers with a public defender leading into his trial, which is slated to begin on Oct. 9.
Pan was arraigned on larceny and murder charges back in the summer of 2021 while represented by Hartford-based attorney William Gerace. He then brought on Pattis and Smith as his new legal team in October of that year. This latest motion comes nearly three months after a state judge found at the end of a two-day probable cause hearing that Pan’s murder case could move ahead to a trial by jury.
Pan’s lawyers must now file a motion to withdraw from the case. State Superior Court Judge Gerald Harmon set March 13 as the date on which the court will render a decision on whether or not to grant that motion.
“Will two weeks be sufficient to acquire new counsel?” Harmon asked of Pan. That’s when Smith responded that Pan plans to seek out a public defender.
Smith told the Independent that Pan will apply between now and and March 13 for access to a public defender, who may even be assigned to the suspect by his next court appearance in March.
Smith declined to comment after the hearing about why Pan wants switch legal representation. “That is his choice,” said Smith, who stated that speaking to Pan’s intention would be a betrayal of attorney-client privilege.