D4vd: Why the DA Filed a Complaint Instead of Indicting
About this episode
The episode discusses the implications of the DA's decision to file a criminal complaint instead of seeking an indictment in the murder case of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
Three grand juries were convened during the investigation into the alleged murder of fourteen-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Not one produced an indictment against David Anthony Burke. Prosecutors confirmed the grand juries were used for investigative purposes — subpoena power, witness compulsion — but when it came time to charge Burke with first-degree murder and three special circumstances, the Los Angeles County DA filed a criminal complaint. That procedural choice carries consequences, and defense attorney Blair Berk appears to be building her strategy around it. She publicly flagged the grand juries' failure to indict, then pushed for a preliminary hearing within ten court days — forcing prosecutors to present their evidence before a judge at the earliest possible opportunity. Trial attorney and former felony prosecutor Eric Faddis breaks down what changes when a case proceeds on a complaint rather than an indictment, what evidentiary thresholds shift at the preliminary hearing stage, and whether Berk is telling us that the grand jury record itself is central to the defense. Faddis also examines the special-circumstance allegations — particularly financial gain, which DA…
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