On the recordSeptember 7, 2011
I rise today to submit for the Record two letters addressed to the chairman and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. The letters were written by Judge Michael McConnell, a former member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and the current the director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School. Judge McConnell's letters examine the constitutionality of section 18 of the America Invents Act, a section of the bill that authorizes a temporary program for administrative review of business-method patents. The letters thoroughly refute the arguments being presented by some opponents of section 18 that the provision either constitutes a taking or runs afoul of the rule of Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc., 514 U.S. 211 1995. Because these letters have circulated widely among members and staff and have played a substantial role in the debate about section 18, I think that it is appropriate that they be published in the Record. I ask unanimous consent that the following materials be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: Michael W. McConnell, Stanford, CA, June 16, 2011.…
