Dickran M. Tevrizian Jr.

Who is Dickran M. Tevrizian Jr.?

Dickran M. Tevrizian, Jr. was a United States federal judge for the Central District of California. Confirmed in 1985, he is the first United States federal judge of Armenian ancestry.

Born in Los Angeles, California, Dickran "Dicky" Tevrizian received a B.S. in finance from the University of Southern California in 1962 and a J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School in 1965. While at USC, Tevrizian was a member of the Gamma Tau Chapter of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. In 1994, he was awarded the Oxford Cup, the highest honor a brother of Beta Theta Pi can receive. He was a tax accountant with Arthur Andersen and Company in Los Angeles from 1965 to 1966, and then in private practice in Los Angeles until 1972. He was a judge on the Los Angeles Municipal Court, California from 1972 to 1978. He was a judge on the California Superior Court in Los Angeles from 1978 to 1982, returning to private practice in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1985, and expanding his practice to Pasadena from 1985 to 1986.

On November 7, 1985, Tevrizian was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Central District of California created by 98 Stat. 333. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 16, 1985, and received his commission the following day. As a judge, Tevrizian sentenced Barry Minkow, the criminal teenage entrepreneur who has since become a Christian minister and anti-fraud detective, to prison in 1987. Tevrizian assumed senior status on August 5, 2005, and retired completely from the bench on April 19, 2007.