Memoirs and historical accounts are among the hottest categories in nonfiction book sales these days. Even in this tough market, a compelling personal or professional autobiography can strike a communal chord with readers. Few legal memoirs, however, have ever risen to that level. Then along came From Gravel to Gavel, released this summer by Flagship Books, and the whole paradigm changed. By the end of the first page, the story of a judge from Van Nuys knocked me between the eyes and kept me reading — even when I didn’t want to because, quite frankly, much of the history it recounts is disturbing. The tome draws the first half of its title from a death march nearly a century ago on what came to be known as the road to hell. In 1915, victims of the Armenian genocide were forced to hammer boulders into gravel to create a foundation for the placement of railroad ties for the proposed Berlin to Baghdad railway. Many were then marched off to their graves. Decades later, one of their descendants found a gavel placed in his hand — hence, the second half of the book’s title. Unlike his murdered grandfather, who had been subjected to the ultimate in powerlessness in the genocide, Armand Arabian became a successful lawyer and a legendary California Supreme Court justice. In his long career on the bench, he upheld the rights of victims and became a nationally recognized leader in the reform of rape laws. Now retired from the bench, Arabian, who remains an active mediator and arbitrator in Van Nuys, penned From Gravel to Gavel. As the book’s front cover observes: “We did not choose our birth or the circumstances we would face upon our arrival and, as in the case of fingerprints, no two stories are alike.” When it comes to this book, that’s putting it mildly. Arabian provides an introductory account of the Armenian genocide and then proceeds to walk the reader down his life path. The first chapter, “Avenge My Blood,” reflects his grandfather’s last words and recounts the man’s horrific demise in Ottoman Turkey, followed by the unspeakable mistreatment of the woman who became his widow. Fast forward to the United States, the land to which Arabian’s parents immigrated. The author takes us through his youth, his law school years in Boston and on to his dream of sunny California, where he becomes a deputy district attorney in Van Nuys. There he handles cases involving legendary comedian Lenny Bruce, famed wrestler “Gorgeous George” and early Hollywood film star and beauty Hedy Lamarr, among others. While the backdrop of these cultural icons is of interest to any Angeleno, along with the amazing history walk through the San Fernando Valley, that’s not what makes the book remarkable. Rather, it’s the no-name cases that motivated Arabian as a young lawyer and eventually propelled him to a pinnacle of power unimaginable to his grandparents. More importantly, it’s what he did with that power that makes From Gravel to Gavel a must-read for those interested in law and ethics, or for that matter, for anyone who finds human growth and transformation fascinating. In these pages we meet an impressionable young lawyer, starting with his appearance in the courtroom of none other than Judge Joseph Wapner in 1965 (decades before the TV program starring Wapner, which became the prototype for today’s popular real-life court shows). No spoiler ending here, but suffice it to say that Arabian’s appointment to represent an indigent and innocent young black man, and Wapner’s courage in presiding over that case, shaped Arabian in untold ways and, as he says, “guided me all the way to the supreme court.” In 1973 as a trial judge, Arabian was assigned to what turned out to be a seminal case for rape victims and a key factor in shaping his resolve to always take the ethical high road. He refused to give a standard instruction that directed the jury to consider allegations by a female alleged rape victim with caution. His ruling was upheld on appeal, resulting in a new jury instruction that became known as the Rincon-Pineda instruction (so named for the case). To this day it protects the rights of those accused of any type of one-on-one confrontation, be it purse-snatching or a serious felony such as rape. As legal analysts observed at the time, Arabian saw his role in that case, and later on the appellate bench, as helping to correct the law, not simply to apply it. As he states in the book’s epilogue: “The most important concept in life is to assist those in need. Whether it be victims of rape or protection of pets or many other causes, step up to the plate and make a difference.” To order a copy of From Gravel to Gavel, call (818) 997-8900.
