Ed Burke corruption trial: Judge denies request for mistrial following witness testimony, reports

CHICAGO - The judge overseeing Former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke's corruption trial denied his request for a mistrial Thursday, according to reports.  

Burke's counsel submitted the request for a mistrial Thursday as court was set to resume. 

According to court documents, Burke argued that witness Ray Lang, a senior executive at Amtrak, offered his opinion when answering a question on the stand. 

Lang testified on Wednesday about an email he sent which read, "the owners of the Old Post Office hired Ed Burke today… a very old school Chicago move to hire him."

During direct examination, Lang was asked to explain what he meant. He said a developer hiring an Alderman's law firm was "symbolic of the Chicago way of doing business." 

He elaborated, "I mean it's very corrupt." 

The court immediately struck the question and answer and the jury was reminded that Lang's opinion was not relevant to their determination. 

Burke's counsel requested a sidebar where he made a motion for a mistrial. 

"I don’t doubt [the prosecutor] didn’t think [Lang] was going to say that, but he said it in the grand jury and he was asked about that. She should have known it if she didn’t think about it," Burke's counsel said. 

The State's Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Morris Pasqual, submitted the government's response to the presiding judge, Hon. Virginia Kendall.

The response said, "A single sentence uttered by a lay witness during a lengthy trial is no grounds for a mistrial."

The judge agreed and denied Burke's request.