Waiting game as jury deliberations continue in trial of Ald. Ed Burke
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Jury deliberations wrapped for another day Wednesday evening in the trial of former Ald. Ed Burke (14th), which is now in its 26th day.
Burke, Chicago's longest serving alderman of all time, is on trial for bribery, racketeering and extortion. Federal prosecutors allege he used his political influence to pressure people to hire his private tax law firm.
Burke is on trial with longtime aide Peter Andrews and developer Charles Cui.
As CBS 2 Political Reporter Chris Tye reported, the case has turned into a healthy waiting game as the jury deliberates. The jury had two questions for U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall on Tuesday, and none on Wednesday.
Tye asked CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller what the time being taken by the jury might mean in a case with three defendants, four alleged schemes, and over a dozen counts – and whether this should be considered a long time for the jury to be deliberating.
Miller simply said there is no way to know.
"There's no way to tell, because you don't know what's going on in the jury room," he said. "You don't know if they're talking about interpretation of the evidence. You don't know if they're talking about, some defendants are guilty, some defendants are not guilty, some counts may be guilty counts, some counts may be not guilty – you have no idea what's going on behind that door."
Miller also said no conclusions can be drawn as for whom the amount of time the jury is deliberating bodes best. But he did outline what sometimes happens in jury rooms amid long deliberations.
"The problem is when you have different opinions about guilt or not guilty – if you have somebody who's saying, 'I'm not going to change my mind,' and you're not going to convince that person, you may end up with a mistrial after a while in this particular case," he said.
A mistrial is up there with a not-guilty verdict among prosecutor's greatest fears, Miller said.
Jury deliberation could go through Friday. If it goes beyond that, jurors would have Christmas week off, and would return after the New Year.
