Frye Standard
The older test admitting expert testimony only if its underlying scientific method is generally accepted in the relevant field.
The Frye standard predates Daubert and asks a single question: is the scientific technique or theory underlying the expert's opinion generally accepted by the relevant scientific community. It does not require the judge to independently assess reliability factors like testability or error rates the way Daubert does — general acceptance within the field does the work.
A number of states still apply Frye or a close variant rather than Daubert, so which standard governs can depend entirely on whether a case is in federal court or in a state that retained Frye. Because Frye defers heavily to the relevant scientific community's own consensus, it can be easier to satisfy for well-established techniques but harder for novel or emerging methods that have not yet achieved broad acceptance, even if they are methodologically sound.
In a simulated Juricratic matter, which admissibility standard applies is itself a dial worth setting explicitly, since a technique that would clear a Frye jurisdiction might face a harder Daubert gatekeeping fight, and the difference can move the exploitability of an expert-dependent claim.
How it actually shows up
Litigators check which standard governs in their jurisdiction before selecting or challenging an expert, since a novel methodology that would draw a Daubert reliability analysis might instead face a general-acceptance hurdle under Frye. Knowing the controlling standard shapes both expert selection and the framing of admissibility briefing.
- What is the Frye standard?
- It is a test for admitting expert testimony that asks only whether the underlying scientific method is generally accepted by the relevant scientific community.
- Which states use Frye instead of Daubert?
- A minority of states still apply Frye or a close variant; the majority, along with federal courts, apply Daubert or a similar reliability-focused test.
- Is Frye stricter than Daubert?
- It depends on the method. Frye can be harder for genuinely novel techniques that lack broad acceptance yet is simpler to apply for well-established ones, since it skips Daubert's multi-factor reliability analysis.
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