According to the Frye Standard, what must happen for evidence to be accepted?

• A. Evidence must be modern and innovative.
• B. Evidence must be widely disputed.
• C. Evidence must be generally accepted by the scientific community.
• D. Evidence must be publicly demonstrated.

Answer: (C)

The Frye Standard requires that evidence must be generally accepted by the scientific community to be admissible in court. This principle arose from a legal case in 1923, where the court determined that for scientific evidence to be valid, it needs to have gained enough acceptance among the relevant scientific community to be considered reliable. This standard emphasizes the importance of consensus and the foundational basis of scientific principles before they can be used in judicial proceedings.

This ensures that only scientifically sound evidence, which is supported by a broad base of scientific validation, is used in legal contexts, thus protecting the integrity of the judicial process. In contrast, evidence that does not have this level of acceptance may lack the necessary credibility and could lead to potentially misleading conclusions in a court case.