SciTech Magazine is published by the Science and Technology Section of the American Bar Association. INTRODUCTION: The Winter 2026 issue of The SciTech Lawyer, published by the American Bar Association’s Science & Technology Law Section, arrives at a pivotal moment in the legal profession’s evolving relationship with artificial intelligence. Centered…
Articles Posted in Commentary and Opinion
Brain Stimulation and Crime Prevention: Separating Science from Speculation
In recent years, advances in neuroscience have sparked interest in whether brain stimulation technologies might contribute to crime prevention. Techniques such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have been studied for their effects on impulse control, aggression, and moral decision-making traits often associated with criminal…
Should the American Bar Association Be the Sole Accrediting Authority for U.S. Law Schools?
For more than a century, the American Bar Association has played a central role in shaping legal education in the United States through its authority to accredit law schools. ABA accreditation is widely regarded as the gold standard: graduates of ABA accredited schools are eligible to sit for the bar…
An Introduction to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
A Congressional Budget Report, January 13, 2026. Learn more about CBO’s work and its processes in a publication that is typically updated at the start of each Congress or a new session. SUMMARY: Lawmakers created the Congressional Budget Office to help Congress play a stronger role in budget matters. CBO…
CBO: Demographic Outlook, 2026 to 2056
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)* Report. January 7, 2026. In CBO’s projections, the U.S. population grows from 349 million people in 2026 to 364 million in 2056, and the average age rises. Starting in 2030, annual deaths exceed annual births, and net immigration accounts for all population growth. SUMMARY: The size…
How the U.S. Captured Nicolas Maduro: A Rapid, High Stakes Operation
Condensed from **“How the US Operation to Capture Maduro Unfolded” by Ryan Morgan, The Epoch Times (Jan. 3, 2026). Late on January 2, 2026, President Donald Trump ordered a carefully planned U.S. special operations mission to seize Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas. Within five hours, U.S. forces had landed,…
Search and Seizure Beyond Borders: Limits in Territorial Law Enforcement
Introduction Territorial search and seizure lies at the intersection of constitutional law, international law, and foreign relations. While domestic legal systems generally define clear rules governing when and how governments may search persons, property, or data, those rules become more complex, and often contested, when enforcement activities cross national borders.…
AI and the Law/Justice Information Professional: What 2026 and Beyond Will Demand
Introduction. This posting draws on guidance and analysis from AALL, IFLA, ACRL, the ABA, Thomson Reuters, LexisNexis, NIST, Stanford HAI, and the World Economic Forum, among others. Artificial intelligence is no longer a speculative “future issue” for law and justice information professionals. By 2026, AI will be embedded, sometimes invisibly, into…
Between Fact and Fiction: Law, Literature and the Search for Truth
Introduction The search for truth occupies a central place in both the legal system and the literary arts, yet each pursues that goal through fundamentally different means. Courts promise truth through structure, rules of evidence, burdens of proof, and sharply defined issues designed to resolve disputes while safeguarding liberty. Literature,…
Executive Overreach and the Eroding Balance of Powers: What Voters are Telling US
Introduction: In his December 10, 2025 column for Justia VERDICT, legal commentator Akshai Vikram argues that growing public concern over what many view as executive overreach under Donald J. Trump’s second administration is fueling calls for a stronger, more assertive Congress. Verdict Widespread Disquiet Among Voters Poll after poll in…