What is the frye standard?

The Frye standard, also known as the Frye test or Frye rule, is a legal standard used in the United States to determine the admissibility of scientific evidence in court. The standard originates from the 1923 case Frye v. United States, in which the court ruled that expert testimony based on a scientific technique is only admissible if the technique is generally accepted in its field.

Under the Frye standard, the scientific evidence must be based on principles that are generally accepted by the relevant scientific community. This means that techniques or methods that have not been widely accepted in the scientific community are not admissible in court. The standard focuses on the technique or methodology used to generate the evidence, rather than the conclusions drawn from it.

The Frye standard has been criticized for being restrictive and potentially outdated, particularly in cases where new and innovative scientific techniques are involved. In response to these criticisms, some states and the federal courts have adopted the Daubert standard, which provides a more flexible and inclusive approach to the admissibility of scientific evidence. However, the Frye standard is still used in some jurisdictions.