Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Page 3
District Attorney’s Office Says No Felony Charge for Karabian
From Staff and Wire Service Reports
A potential case against former Democratic Assemblyman Walter Karabian, a local attorney who was booked on charge of assault with a deadly weapon Saturday afternoon, has been sent for misdemeanor consideration to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, a district attorney spokesperson said yesterday.
Karabian, a 71-year-old Los Angeles attorney who is active in the Armenian-American community, allegedly ran over a female parking attendant before the USC football game at the Coliseum. He was released on $30,000 bail Saturday evening, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department records.
The incident occurred around 12:30 p.m. in Exposition Park, the Sheriff’s Department said.
A former deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County, Karabian attended USC for both his undergraduate and legal education.
In 1966, he was elected to the state Assembly from a Monterey Park district at the age of 28. Karabian went on to become the youngest majority leader in the Assembly’s history in 1971 at the age of 33, but was ousted from his position the next year by Jack R. Fenton of Montebello.
Karabian served four terms in the Assembly before announcing his intention to run for attorney general in 1974. But he bowed out of the race after Republican incumbent Evelle J. Younger decided to seek re-election, and instead made a failed bid to become secretary of state.
During his tenure as a lawmaker, Karabian authored the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1970 and the Peace Officers Retirement Act of 1973. He is also credited with steering the Equal Rights Amendment to a successful ratification vote in California.
In 1975 Karabian opened the law firm of Karns & Karabian with USC classmate John H. Karns, in Monterey Park.
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