Is The Frye Standard Making A Comeback In Florida?

On July 11, 2017, the Florida Supreme Court accepted jurisdiction of a case in which it is expected to finally decide, conclusively, whether Florida courts are to apply the Frye or Daubert standard to determine admissibility of expert or scientific evidence.

The Frye standard, which was adopted in Florida in 1952, applies to expert testimony based upon new or novel scientific evidence. Under the Frye standard, "in order to introduce expert testimony deduced from a scientific principle or discovery, the principle or discovery 'must be sufficiently established to have gained general acceptance in the particular field in which it belongs.'"

The Frye standard had reigned supreme nationwide for almost 70 years but, in 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in which it held that the Federal Rules of Evidence superseded Frye's general acceptance test. In interpreting Federal Rule of Evidence 702, Daubert provides