Ricardo Morales (Law & Order: LA)

Det. Ricardo Morales
Law & Order character
Ricardo Morales portrayed by Alfred Molina in the episode "Silver Lake".
First appearance	"Hollywood"
Last appearance	"Westwood"
Portrayed by	Alfred Molina
Time on show	2010–2011
Preceded by	Rex Winters (detective)
Succeeded by	Joe Dekker (prosecutor)
Information
Nickname(s)	Rick Ricky
Occupation	Police Officer Former Prosecutor
Title	LAPD Detective
Family	Karina Morales (daughter)
Partner	Tomas Jaruszalski

Ricardo "Rick" Morales is a fictional character from the NBC legal drama series Law & Order: LA, portrayed by Alfred Molina. He made his debut appearance in the show's first episode "Hollywood", broadcast on September 29, 2010.

On July 24, 2010, series creator Dick Wolf announced Molina had joined the cast of Law & Order: LA as Deputy District Attorney Morales.

Ricardo Morales in an offspring of a political family, Morales was a "battlefield general" in the courtroom yet "coarsely sardonic and self-deprecating" in real-life. Morales has a deep abiding sense of justice. He got his work ethic from his father, a man who took great pride in his work. Like most Los Angeles DAs, he had an eye for politics and he's very media savvy. Morales had reach the end of his rope with all the politics in the district attorney's office, so he goes back to his roots as a detective, where he feels he can make more of a difference in apprehending criminals.

Morales grew up in Boyle Heights. To raise extra money for college Morales drove a town car around the city, often being shocked at things he saw in his rearview mirror.

In the 1980s, Morales started out as a patrolman with the Los Angeles Police Department until he wound up shooting an armed suspect, which might have played in him becoming a homicide detective. He lost at least two partners; one to cancer, the other fell in the line of duty.

He later quit the police department figuring "he might make a real difference" as a prosecutor.

Morales is a sardonic pragmatist who thinks moral rectitude is lovely but ineffective in a street fight. Though he knows how to manipulate both his public image and behind-the-scenes politics, he's still a killer in the courtroom who lives to see justice served.

He is the kind of guy who suavely makes sure every camera is rolling before delivering a properly dignified and sobering statement. He is not a grandstander, but a man with political ambition who understands that in L.A., people like their public officials to walk and talk like stars.