Showing Restraint

In Judge Richard E. Rico's civil harassment court, getting an order against a jilted lover or a disgruntled employee requires clear and convincing proof, not just bad behavior.

Richard E. Rico

Los Angeles Superior Court

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By Noah Barron
Daily Journal Staff Writer

LOS ANGELES - When a dispute arises between neighbors fuming over property boundaries or roommates unable to deal with living in close quarters, police often get called in and, absent blood and bruises, send the involved parties to civil harassment court.

Such a decision, said civil harassment Judge Richard E. Rico, 54, in Los Angeles Superior Court, is almost always the wrong one.

"It requi... (continued)