What concept did Frye v. United States set as a standard for expert testimony?

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The case of Frye v. United States established the "general acceptance" standard for expert testimony, which pertains to the admissibility of scientific evidence in legal proceedings. This means that for expert testimony to be considered valid, the methods and principles underlying the testimony must be widely accepted by the relevant scientific community at the time the evidence is presented. The Frye standard serves as a crucial gatekeeping measure, ensuring that the evidence being introduced is not only scientifically sound but also recognized and validated by experts in the specific field, thereby providing a level of credibility to the testimony.

In this context, "general acceptance" ensures that the methodologies employed have been rigorously tested and are not merely novel or fringe ideas. While other options such as statistical analysis, peer-reviewed publications, and advanced technology may play relevant roles in the practice of forensic science, they do not encapsulate the core principle established by the Frye decision. The decision emphasized the importance of broad acceptance in the scientific community as a necessary condition for expert testimony to be admissible in court.

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