Rule 1104 Except as provided in Sections 1102 and 1103, evidence of a trait of a person’s character with respect to care or skill is inadmissible to prove the q…

If someone is careful or skilled (or careless or clumsy) in general, that fact cannot be used in court to prove how they acted in a specific situation. For example, just because someone has a reputation for being a reckless driver does not mean that evidence can be used to show they drove recklessly on the day of an accident.

There are two exceptions to this rule. Sections 1102 and 1103 allow character evidence in certain criminal cases, where the rules work a bit differently.