Armand was born in New York City to John and Aghavnie (née Yalian) Arabian, who had immigrated from Armenia following the 1915 Armenian genocide.
In 1972, Arabian was appointed by California Governor Ronald Reagan as a Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge, where he served one year.
Arabian was then elevated by Governor Reagan to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where he presided from 1973 to 1983.
The ensuing dispute made it to the state supreme court, which ruled both the appointment and the withdrawal legal.
"[5] Four years later, Governor George Deukmejian officially appointed Arabian an associate justice of the California Court of Appeal, Second District, where he served from 1983 to 1990.
[23][24] In 2011, Arabian was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association's Community Legal Foundation.
[1][27] They had two children: a daughter, Allison Ann Demurjian, and a son, Robert Armand Arabian, who is also an attorney.
The Sexual Assault Counselor-Victim Privilege: Jurisdictional Delay into an Unclaimed Sanctuary[permanent dead link], 37 Pepp.