By Kshipra Hemal
Editor-in-Chief
There is always that one unwanted side in a debate for which no one wants to argue, but when the Supreme Court of the United States asked Robert Long to do exactly that, the Reynolds High School alumnus was up to the challenge.
Long was asked to write an “amicus curiae” brief, which literally means “friend of the court,” in the Affordable Care Act case that was the hotly contested debate on “Obamacare” before the Supreme Court in March.
“What impresses me the most is that the Supreme Court actually chose Mr. Long to argue an issue that neither side of the case wanted to address, but the Court wanted to have briefed and argued before them,” said Reynolds debate team sponsor and social studies teacher Dean Rutledge, himself a lawyer. “When the Supreme Court goes looking for a lawyer, it must be an enormous honor to be the one they pick.”
Long’s assignment was to write two briefs, which are written legal arguments, and present an oral argument for 40 minutes before the Supreme Court in support of a position that neither party wanted to argue: that a federal statute, known as the Anti-Injunction Act, prevents the Court from ruling on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act’s minimum coverage requirement.
The requirement stipulates that most people obtain health insurance for themselves and their dependents, and once that requirement goes into effect in 2014, one will have to pay a penalty for not having insurance. Whether or not the Court can rule on the minimum coverage requirement sets the stage for the Court’s ability to rule on other issues in the case, and that’s why Long was the first lawyer to argue during the three days of oral arguments at the Supreme Court.
In June, the court upheld by a 5-4 decision the constitutionality of the law.
Long graduated from Reynolds in 1975 and continued his education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead-Cain Scholar. Initially, Long said, he wanted to be a doctor, but he gradually became interested in law through a combination of academic courses, involvement in student government, and summer internships through the Morehead-Cain program.
After graduating from UNC, Long attended Oxford University in England as a Rhodes Scholar and studied philosophy, politics and economics. He received his law degree from Yale University and was admitted to the bar in 1987.
At Reynolds, Long was involved in band, tennis, cross-country and Honor Court.
“Both the tennis team and the cross-country team won state championships, but not because of me,” Long said in an email to Pine Whispers. “One of my fondest memories of Reynolds is running cross-country races. I was always at or near the back of the pack, but the other students cheered for us as if we were contending for first place, which made me feel very good about the Reynolds community.”
Long, now a partner with the Washington, D.C., firm of Covington & Burling LLP, has argued 17 cases before the Supreme Court and has shaped more than 150 cases in federal and state appellate courts. He is recognized as a leading appellate lawyer in Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers, Guide to the World’s Leading Lawyers, Washingtonian “Top Lawyers,” and Super Lawyers.
His achievements have brought pride to the entire Reynolds community.
“As a teacher and a lawyer, I am proud to know that a Reynolds alumnus has gone on to have such a distinguished career,” Rutledge said. “I hope and expect that some of today’s students will see his example and be motivated to reach their own heights of achievement.”
For current Reynolds students, Long suggests studying hard and finding something interesting in every course.
“Often a subject that seems boring at first will turn out to be very interesting, if you give it a chance,” Long said.