Judicial Gatekeeping
Definition
The role of the trial judge in screening scientific evidence before it reaches the jury. Under Frye the judge defers to expert consensus; under Daubert and its equivalents the judge independently evaluates the methodology. Both approaches vest gatekeeping authority in the court but differ in how that authority is exercised.
- Frye approach
- Defers to expert-community consensus
- Daubert approach
- Judge independently evaluates methodology
- Authority holder
- The trial judge, under both approaches
- Applied at
- The admissibility stage, before the jury sees it
Common questions
What is the practical difference for an expert witness under each standard?+
Under Frye the expert mainly needs to show the technique is generally accepted in the relevant field, while under Daubert the expert must be ready to defend the method's testability, known error rate and peer review directly to the judge.
Why does gatekeeping matter for the overall reliability of expert evidence?+
It is meant to filter out evidence with a weak scientific foundation before it can influence a jury, though critics note that judges are not scientists and can apply the standard inconsistently across cases.
Related terms
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023
- India's replacement for the Indian Evidence Act 1872, in force from 1 July 2024. Section 39 carries forward the expert-witness opinion provisions,...
- Daubert Standard
- The US federal evidentiary standard (Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 1993) requiring that expert testimony be based on scientifically valid methods with...
- General-Acceptance Test
- The Frye rule that a scientific principle must be sufficiently established to have gained acceptance in the particular field to which it...
- Novel Science Problem
- The practical difficulty that arises when a technique is new and no scientific consensus yet exists. Under Frye, a sound technique is...
- Relevant Scientific Community
- The group of scientists whose expertise covers the technique under review. Identifying this community is the first step of the Frye inquiry....