Hunt & Associates P.C.

Oct 11, 2017

Mass Shootings, the Second Amendment, and the Gun Control Debate

Lit candlesWe can expect the gun control debate to grow louder in the wake of the Las Vegas mass shooting on October 1, 2017.  Shooter Stephen Paddock killed at least 58 people and injured nearly 500 others in the recent massacre.  Proponents of stricter gun control will likely point to this shooting to plead for stricter regulation of our Second Amendment right to bear arms.  Their rationale is that someone intent on mass killing would be … Read more

Sep 22, 2017

The Way Some Lawyers are Trying to Make Money from Extreme Weather Disasters

HurricaneHurricane Harvey was a disaster for almost everyone it touched.  Yet, showing that no disaster is without profit to someone, lawyers are already thinking of ways to blame damage from the storm on governments, architects, builders and others.  As Reuters reports in a recent story by Sebastien Malo, those lawyers are trying to show that certain targets, all with presumably deep pockets, should be legally responsible for the damages and injuries millions suffered in the … Read more

Aug 3, 2017

The RAISE Act: President Donald Trump’s Immigration Reform Plan

Donald TrumpPresident Donald Trump announced his plan for reforming legal immigration on August 2, 2017.  Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue joined the President’s announcement of the new plan.

The new immigration plan is formally titled Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act (RAISE Act).  By selecting this title, the President and lawmakers appear to communicate their intent to improve American employment and give Americans a wage raise by limiting immigration.

Here are the … Read more

Jul 25, 2017

Oregon Will Decide If You’re Smart Enough to Keep Your Kids

PhrenologyA recent story in the Oregonian tells how the state of Oregon has taken a married couple’s children because the state claims the couple isn’t smart enough to be parents.  In fact, the state took their younger child from the hospital before his mother was even able to see him.

As the story points out, both parents have held jobs and they maintain a household.  While neither parent looks like another Einstein, when has anyone … Read more

Jul 13, 2017

The Fair Work Week Act: New Work Schedule Restrictions on the Horizon for Certain Oregon Workers and Employers

CalendarThe Oregon legislature passed the Fair Work Week Act (SB 828) on June 29, 2017 and the potential new law awaits Governor Brown’s signature before implementation.  If implemented, the new law would be the first of its kind adopted by a U.S. State.

Supporters claim passage of the Fair Work Week Act as a win for workers in the retail, hospitality and food service industries.  Opponents of the Fair Work Week Act criticize … Read more

May 16, 2017

Now That We’ve Taken Your Money, Prove Why We Shouldn’t Keep It; Or, The Advantages of a Presumption of Guilt

Prison cellsSome states apparently insist that even if your criminal conviction is overturned on appeal and the charges against you are dismissed, the state should still keep any fines you’ve paid unless and until you can prove that you were actually innocent of the crime you were charged with in the first place.  In other words, they actually have a presumption of guilt that you have to overcome before the state will return the fines you … Read more

May 3, 2017

Yellow Traffic Lights are Too Brief but Don’t Try to Tell the State of Oregon’s Board of Engineering Examiners – It Will Certainly Ignore Your Message and Fine You for Speaking

Yellow traffic lightIn an email to the Oregon State Board of Engineering an electronics engineer argued that yellow traffic lights in the state were too brief and thus put the public at risk.  He supported his arguments with calculations and graphs which he prepared at his own cost in his free time.

The Oregon State Board of Engineering disregarded the substance of his email but attacked the author, Mats Jarlstrom, for referring to himself as an ���electronics … Read more

Apr 6, 2017

Local Governments Get in the Business of Crony Capitalism and Union Organizing

UnionCity, county and state governments throughout the United States often enact measures to protect or promote favored business groups.  The City of Portland’s efforts to protect the cab companies through ordinances limiting the rates and services of other businesses that transport individuals within the metro area such as airport limos, Uber and Lyft recently received judicial approval from the Ninth Circuit in Speed’s Auto Servs. Group v. City of Portland, 2017 U.S. App Lexis 5551 … Read more

Mar 7, 2017

Who Runs the Shop – Things Public Officials Can’t Say About Public Employees

Speak No Evil Monkey - 030717 croppedThe Oregon Supreme Court has just ruled that a City Council or other government body can be punished for committing an unfair labor practice if one of its members criticizes the public employee unions to which the city’s employees belong.

In AFSCME Council 75 v. City of Lebanon, 360 Or 809 (2017) the Court held that the City could be sanctioned for an unfair labor practice if one member of the Council, in a letter … Read more

Feb 27, 2017

Executor of Estate Found Personally Liable to IRS for Decedent’s Unpaid Taxes

Gold dollar signsBenjamin Franklin once observed “in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”  For those who doubt Franklin’s sagacity in that regard, consider the recent case of Marci McNicol.  A federal court found her personally liable to the Internal Revenue Services to the tune of $125,000.00 with respect to taxes owed by her late husband.  Here’s what happened.

On his death, in addition to their four minor children, McNicol’s husband … Read more