§ 40.180 Rule 406. Habit; routine practice

If someone always does the same thing in a certain situation, that pattern can be used as evidence in court. This is called a "habit" for a person or a "routine practice" for a business or organization. For example, if a person always locks their car door before leaving it, or a company always follows the same steps before shipping a package, that regular behavior can help prove what probably happened on a specific occasion.

This kind of evidence is allowed even if no one saw what happened that particular time, and even if there's no other proof backing it up. The idea is that if someone (or some organization) does something the same way over and over, it's likely they did it that way again in the situation being discussed in court.

The key point is that a "habit" has to be a specific, consistent way of handling a particular kind of situation. It's not enough to say someone is generally careful or generally reckless. The behavior has to be a clear pattern, something the person does almost automatically whenever that kind of situation comes up.