Armand M. Arabian

Armand M. Arabian, 83, born on December 12, 1934, in New York, New York, passed away March 28, 2018.

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of former California Supreme Court Justice Armand Arabian who passed away March 28, 2018 at his private residence in the San Fernando Valley. Justice Arabian proudly served the People of the State of California for many decades as both a Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney and as a Judge.

Justice Arabian, an Armenian-born American, was born in New York City to immigrant parents who came through Ellis Island. He was the eldest of five children of Ovanes and Aghavni Arabian. His siblings are: Florence Maghakian; Queen Mary Benson (Deceased); Siroun "John" Arabian and Sandra Morton.

Armand attended Boston University as a young man and after earning his degree, he enlisted in the United States Army. As an Airborne paratrooper, he learned the value of teamwork, hard work and the honor of public service to state and country.

He attended Boston University Law School and upon passing the California Bar, moved to California. He became a Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney, one of only 50 at the time. He later practiced law as a criminal defense attorney and was appointed to the bench by then Governor Ronald Reagan. Within a short period of time, Governor Reagan appointed him to the Municipal and Superior Court, where he served as a trial judge in Van Nuys, CA. He also served as the Presiding Judge in San Fernando, CA. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal and later to the California Supreme Court by Governor George Deukmejian, where he authored approximately 100 majority opinions during his tenure on the Supreme Court.

His legal accomplishments are many, but he was most famous for protecting the rights of women in sexual assault cases. He refused to provide the jury with an instruction that was derived from "Old England" which essentially discredited the victim. The case is known as the People of the State of California vs. Rincon-Pineda, 14 Cal.3d 864 (1972). The case made its way through the court system and ultimately became law in the State of California. Justice Arabian also worked to amend the California Evidence Code and the State of California later codified a privilege between a rape victim and a sexual assault counselor based upon Justice Arabian's passion for equality and fairness is such significant cases.

Armand's wife Nancy passed about a year-and-a-half ago and this event left him heartbroken. Although he had the friendship and love of his orange cat "Red-Boy" the Lord decided it was his time to be reunited with all his loved ones who had gone before him, especially Nancy.

Justice Arabian is survived by his daughter Allison Arabian, an Orange County, California attorney, and his son Robert Armand Arabian, a Police Commander and attorney. He has four grandchildren: Robert Demurjian, Ashley Arabian, Nicole Demurjian, and Thomas Arabian.

The service celebrating Armand's life will be held at Forest Lawn on April 13, 2018, at 2:30 P.M. The celebration will be open to the public.

In Armand's honor, the family requests any donations be made in lieu of flowers to one of the following charities:

The Honorable Armand Arabian Awards Scholarship
C/O Encino Chamber of Commerce
4933 Balboa Blvd. Encino, CA 91316

or

Valley Community Legal Foundation
C/O San Fernando Valley Bar Association
5567 Reseda Boulevard, Suite 200
Tarzana, CA 91356.