Oral History of JUSTICE ARMAND ARABIAN

OR AL HISTORY JUSTICE ARMAND ARABIAN ASSOCIATE JUSTICE CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT 1990–1996 518 CALIFORNIA LEGAL HISTORY ✯ VOLUME 15, 2020 Armand Arabian, Associate Justice, California Supreme Court, 1990–1996 519 Oral History of JUSTICE ARMAND ARABIAN TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE Laura McCreery � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 520 INTRODUCTION Ellis J. Horvitz � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 523 Editor’s Note � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 525 OR AL HISTORY � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 525 520 CALIFORNIA LEGAL HISTORY ✯ VOLUME 15, 2020 Preface to the Oral History of JUSTICE ARMAND ARABIAN LAURA MC CREERY n the spring of 2005, the idea began to take shape for a possible series I of oral history interviews centered on Governor George Deukmejian’s appointees to the California Supreme Court. Of his eight appointments in eight years — a great number by any measure — two, Justices Joyce Kennard and Marvin Baxter, were still serving on the court. Another two, Justices Marcus Kaufman and David Eagleson, had died in 2003 without having had the chance to add their spoken recollections to the archival record of California’s judicial history. But four of the justices appointed by Governor Deukmejian had retired from the bench and returned to private law practice in California: Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas and Associate Justices Armand Arabian, John Arguelles, and Edward Panelli. With scholarly guidance from Pro- fessor Harry N. Scheiber, Stefan A. Riesenfeld Professor of Law and His- tory at Berkeley Law School, I designed the California Supreme Court Oral History Project with them in mind, reasoning that interviews with several justices who served in overlapping time periods might yield a richer historical record than interviews with one or more justices in isolation. In addition, such a series of interviews might shed new light on the unusual period before, during, and after California’s November 1986 ✯ ORAL HISTORY OF JUSTICE ARMAND ARABIAN 521 statewide election, in which voters — at odds with the California Supreme Court’s handling of death penalty appeals — declined to retain three sit- ting members: Chief Justice Rose Bird, Associate Justice Joseph Grodin, and Associate Justice Cruz Reynoso. (Although Chief Justice Bird record- ed no oral history before her death in 1999, her two colleagues have been interviewed by others,1 and Justice Grodin also authored a book, In Pursuit of Justice, about his experiences.) The 1986 election and its aftermath changed dramatically the makeup of the court and its leadership. Not only did three new justices join the court in 1987, but all three retired within two to four years, allowing Gov- ernor Deukmejian the opportunity to replace them, too, before his second term expired. Happily, all four of the retired justices did, in time, consent to par- ticipate in the California Supreme Court Oral History Project. Scholars, students, and the bench and bar owe a debt of gratitude to each of them, as they have immeasurably enriched the record of California’s judiciary. It was an honor and a personal pleasure to explore in detail their lives and careers, a lengthy process that each justice bore with dedication, humor, and kindness. My discussions with each interviewee naturally varied in scope and style, but I urged them all to recall in some depth their entire judicial careers, not only their time on the California Supreme Court. Without ex- ception the justices revealed a wealth of experience in California’s court system over time. All four had been trial judges, and each emphasized the importance of that experience to their work on the state’s highest court. I spent substantial time exploring their personal stories as well, so that fu- ture researchers may better understand who they were and why they made certain choices in their lives and careers. Each justice had been retired from the bench for at least ten years at the time of interview. Users of this material should know that, as inter- viewees, they had the disadvantage of chronological distance from events they discussed. But while the human memory is imperfect, all four justices demonstrated remarkable recall, even across so many years. 1 Justice Grodin’s oral history and a condensed version of Justice Reynoso’s oral history were published in the 2008 and 2015 volumes (nos. 3 and 10), respectively, of California Legal History. 522 CALIFORNIA LEGAL HISTORY ✯ VOLUME 15, 2020 My third interviewee was Justice Arabian, whose law office in Van Nuys was the setting for our six meetings in the spring of 2007. Although he was much in demand by phone during our proceedings, in between calls Justice Arabian focused like a laser, putting his feet up and giving me a full, straightforward, smart, and savvy take on every subject I raised. We laughed often as he put his indelible stamp on key facets of judicial history. He made few changes to his transcript, generously leaving intact the great majority of our discussions. This project could not have begun in 2005 or continued thereafter without the financial support of the California Supreme Court Histori- cal Society. The officers and board members have been true partners in a shared historical effort, as have the attorneys statewide whose individual contributions make the Society’s programs possible. I thank them all. I also acknowledge a personal debt of gratitude to Professor Harry N. Scheiber. He alone, through graceful and effective leadership at crucial moments, made it possible to complete the project. In turn, he and I jointly acknowledge Professors Bruce Cain and Jack Citrin, former director and current director, respectively, of UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, the project’s administrative home. The staffs of the IGS library and business office helped immensely at every phase of my research. The justices themselves are, of course, the heart of the California Su- preme Court Oral History Project. Any success achieved in the service of history accrues to them, while any errors are mine alone. Institute of Governmental Studies University of California, Berkeley December 2008 ✯ ORAL HISTORY OF JUSTICE ARMAND ARABIAN 523 Introduction to the Oral History of JUSTICE ARMAND ARABIAN ELLIS J. HORVITZ* first became acquainted with Armand Arabian in 1979, not in his role I as a jurist, but as the author of an op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times remembering the Armenian holocaust of 1915, in which the Turkish gov- ernment killed more than a million Armenian men, women, and children. It was a powerful article and deeply personal, involving Armand’s grand- mother and father. Indeed, it is still timely today. When I finally met Armand years later, he was already on the Califor- nia Court of Appeal. Our paths crossed regularly in oral arguments, at bar functions, as co-panelists at MCLE programs, guest lecturing his class at Pepperdine Law School, and the like. We got to know each other pretty well. On the bench, Armand is perhaps best remembered for his early, elo- quent and persistent advocacy supporting women’s rights, particularly the law relating to the credibility of rape victims and the standard of proof required to convict. In 1980, he conceived and created for the first time in the history of the law an entirely new sexual assault counselor–victim privilege, which protects a confidential communication from entering the courtroom. * Founder of Horvitz & Levy; formerly a member of the Board of Directors of the California Supreme Court Historical Society. 524 CALIFORNIA LEGAL HISTORY ✯ VOLUME 15, 2020 Less well known is his day-in and day-out productivity — hundreds of opinions in the California Court of Appeal and more than a hundred in his six years as a member of the California Supreme Court. In his twenty- four years on the bench, Armand always delivered full measure. At my firm, we always regarded the panel of the Court of Appeal on which he served as one of the most active in oral argument, well prepared with lots of questions. Counsel were rarely left in the dark about the court’s views. By the same token, in personal and professional matters, Armand is direct and unambiguous. What you see and hear is what you get. He has strong opinions off the bench, and no hesitation in voicing them. Do you want to quarrel with him about politics? Law? Social issues? Public person- alities? He enjoys a lively exchange. When Armand retired from the bench in 1996, he told me he wouldn’t have missed his judicial experience for anything in the world. At the same time, he said he had other things he wanted to do, starting immediately. And indeed he did. Armand hit the ground running. He is into every- thing, at least those things that interest him. Since leaving the court, he has served as an arbitrator, legal counselor, expert witness, law professor, tem- porary trustee of The Albert Einstein Correspondence Trust, and more. He is active in politics and has been deeply involved with his church and with the governmental and judicial system in Armenia. To each of these activities, he brings seemingly endless energy and enthusiasm, as well as an openness to new situations and new people. In a reflective mode, Armand expressed his gratitude and love for this country, which offered him opportunities his immigrant parents could not have imagined. But these opportunities ignited Armand’s imagination and became his launching pad into an active, productive and joyous career. At the same time, he has never forgotten his roots. He remains intensely de- voted to his family, his heritage, and his church. They are all beneficiaries of his loyalty and enormous energy. He still has much to do. Encino, California December 2007 ✯ ORAL HISTORY OF JUSTICE ARMAND ARABIAN 525 Oral History of JUSTICE ARMAND ARABIAN EDITOR’S NOTE: he oral history of California Supreme Court Associate Justice Ar- T mand Arabian (1934–2018) was conducted in 2007 by Laura McCre- ery of the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley,2 with funding from the California Supreme Court Historical Society.

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