Frye Standard
Definition
The US legal test for admissibility of scientific evidence, originating from Frye v. United States (1923), which required that a technique be 'generally accepted' within its relevant scientific community. Replaced in federal courts by the Daubert standard (1993), which additionally requires peer review, known error rates, and methodological reliability.
- Origin
- Frye v. United States, DC Circuit, 1923
- Core test
- General acceptance in the relevant scientific community
- Jurisdiction
- United States (state courts in approx. half of states)
- Superseded by
- Daubert standard in US federal courts (1993)
- Applies to
- Admissibility of expert scientific testimony
Common questions
What is the Frye standard?+
The Frye standard is a test for deciding whether scientific evidence can be admitted in court. It comes from Frye v. United States, a 1923 US DC Circuit decision. The rule is simple: a scientific technique is admissible if it has gained general acceptance in the relevant scientific community.
How is the Frye standard different from the Daubert standard?+
Frye asks just one question: is the method generally accepted by scientists in that field? Daubert, which replaced Frye in US federal courts in 1993, goes further. It also requires peer review, known error rates, and overall methodological reliability. Frye is considered the less demanding of the two tests.
Where does the Frye standard still apply?+
Federal courts switched to Daubert, but the Frye standard is still the operative test in a number of US states, including California, Illinois, and New York. Some states use a hybrid version that draws from both tests. Outside the US, the general-acceptance idea has also influenced admissibility discussions in other jurisdictions.
Related terms
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- CrimPR Part 19
- Criminal Procedure Rules Part 19 (England and Wales): the expert-witness procedural code requiring disclosure of qualifications, methodology, limitations, and whether the method...
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 (BSA)
- India's current evidence statute, which replaced the Indian Evidence Act 1872. Section 63 of the BSA governs electronic records and requires a...
- BSA 2023 § 39
- Section 39 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, the provision governing expert opinion evidence in Indian courts. Replaced Indian Evidence Act 1872...
- Duty to the Court
- The obligation of expert witnesses in UK proceedings (and, to varying degrees, in other jurisdictions) to assist the court with objective, unbiased...
- ISO/IEC 17025
- The international standard for testing and calibration laboratories, published jointly by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission. It...
- Blind Verification
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- Expert Witness
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- FRE 702
- Federal Rule of Evidence 702, the US statutory basis for expert testimony admissibility. Amended in 2000 and again in 2023 to reflect...
- Gatekeeping
- The judicial function, codified in the United States by Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals (1993) and Federal Rule of Evidence 702, of...
- PCAST 2016
- President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology 2016 report 'Forensic Science in Criminal Courts', which assessed foundational validity of forensic disciplines...
Explained in these topics
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- Polygraphy, PDD Methods and the US v. Scheffer Inadmissibility FrameThe 1923 general-acceptance test for expert scientific evidence, still governing in several US states. Polygraph evidence fails the Frye test in most states be...
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- Spectrographic Voiceprint History and Its Modern RejectionThe US legal test for admissibility of scientific evidence, originating from Frye v. United States (1923), which required that a technique be 'generally accept...
- Standards, Accreditation and Admissibility in Fingerprint EvidenceThe predecessor US admissibility test (Frye v. United States, 1923) that asks only whether the scientific methodology is generally accepted in its field; still...
- Standards, Accreditation and Admissibility in Fire and ExplosivesThe earlier US admissibility test (Frye v. United States, 1923) requiring 'general acceptance' of a scientific technique by the relevant community. Retained in...
- Standards, Accreditation and Admissibility in QDEThe older US admissibility test, from Frye v. United States (1923): expert testimony is admissible if the underlying scientific principle is 'generally accepte...
- The Daubert Standard and Its ProgenyThe test from Frye v. United States (1923) requiring that a scientific technique be generally accepted by the relevant scientific community before expert testi...
- The Forensic Entomologist as Expert WitnessThe predecessor general-acceptance test for expert testimony in many US states, from Frye v. United States (1923). Some states retain Frye; others have adopted...
- The Forensic Odontologist as Expert WitnessThe older US admissibility rule (Frye v United States, 1923) asking only whether the method is generally accepted in the relevant scientific community. Still u...
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- Who Is an Expert Witness in LawThe older US admissibility test derived from Frye v United States (DC Cir 1923). Expert scientific evidence is admissible only if the underlying technique or m...