Copyright (c) 2010 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/rahi_azizi Recent documents in Rahi Azizi en-us Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:23:11 PST 3600 http://works.bepress.com/rahi_azizi/8 http://works.bepress.com/rahi_azizi/8 Wed, 20 Oct 2010 15:00:09 PDT ABSTRACTThe term “suicide-by-cop” refers to incidents in which a suicidal person intentionally goads the police into killing him because he is unwilling to take his own life. Many journalists have written newspaper articles on suicide-by-cop, but legal literature on this unique category of police killings remains scarce. This article hopes to change that. Part of my purpose is to examine suicide-by-cop from a sociological standpoint and determine its prevalence. But my purpose does not stop there.I make two principle arguments. First, suicide-by-cop poses a tangible threat of litigation to police departments. Because suicide-by-cop incidents can form the basis for a lawsuit against the police under federal law (Section 1983 of the 1871 Civil Rights Act), law enforcement agencies should train officers more adequately on the use of nonlethal force in such situations. Second, various policy considerations provide a compelling reason for police departments to better address suicide-by-cop. The individuals who commit suicide-by-cop tend to be young, destitute, and addicted to drugs. They all have mental health issues, and many only wish to harm themselves. Ultimately, killing these individuals does not serve a significant law enforcement aim. Therefore, the police should approach suicide-by-cop situations with an eye toward suicide intervention. Law enforcement agencies should also adopt measures to track the frequency of suicide-by-cop incidents and educate police officers on common characteristics that suicide-by-cop victims share (so that officers can more readily identify attempts at suicide-by-cop and handle them accordingly). Suicide-by-cop poses major legal and policy implications that affect lower income communities and law enforcement agencies throughout the country. Hopefully, this article can call attention to this tragic phenomenon and the ways in which we can limit its occurrence. Rahi Azizi Criminal Law and Procedure http://works.bepress.com/rahi_azizi/6 http://works.bepress.com/rahi_azizi/6 Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:10:37 PDT ABSTRACTThis paper addresses serious deficiencies in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, or "DSHEA." In it, I argue that the DSHEA (a federal statute passed by Congress in 1994, superseding the Food Drug and Cosmetics Act as the applicable law governing the sale of nutraceutical products) gives impermissible latitude to manufacturers of dietary supplements by allowing them to sell products without establishing whether they are safe or effective. The DSHEA also allows manufacturers to employ unsubstantiated and misleading labeling claims in marketing their products.I assert that the DSHEA promotes deceptive labeling practices. I also suggest that the current regulatory regime is ineffective in assessing health risks posed by dietary supplements to the general public. I propose a way to amend the statute, by implementing a testing regime to better ensure both the safety and efficacy of supplements (comparable to, but distinguishable from and not nearly as stringent as the testing regime governing the distribution of pharmaceutical drugs). Furthermore, the paper advocates alleviating the burden the DSHEA imposes on the FDA in banning potentially dangerous supplements, by requiring courts to defer to FDA findings that a supplement is harmful (under the DSHEA, the FDA bears the burden of proof in showing that a supplement poses an "unreasonable or significant risk of harm" before removing it from the market; moreover, courts must apply de novo review to questions of law and fact in determining whether the FDA is justified in prohibiting the sale of a supplement). Additionally, I articulate a litigation strategy (based on California statutory law) that might incentivize enactment of an amendment by Congress.Alternative medicine implicates many controversial issues. The public's obsession with dietary supplements, despite the inadequacy of evidence demonstrating their benefits, is rather disturbing. I feel the government’s lack of regulation over this industry should be addressed (especially in light of the deaths linked to the herbal supplement ephedra). Rahi Azizi Consumer Protection Law Food and Drug Law