Miss. R. Evid. 406
Evidence of a person's habit or an organization's routine practice may be admitted to prove that on a particular occasion the person or organization acted in accordance with the habit or routine practice. The court may admit this evidence regardless of whether it is corroborated or whether there was an eyewitness.
Miss. R. Evid. 406
Advisory Committee Note
The language of Rule 406 has been amended as part of the restyling of the Evidence Rules to make them more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules. These changes are intended to be stylistic only. There is no intent to change any result in any ruling on evidence admissibility.
Habit is considered to be an individual's usual method or manner of doing things. Routine practice refers to a group or institution's habit. See McCormick, Evidence, 3rd Ed., 162. Thus, we speak of a person's habit and the routine practice or custom of an institution. Mississippi has long recognized that under appropriate circumstances habit and custom are relevant evidence. Under Rule 406, evidence of habit or routine practice can be used as circumstantial evidence. A party may introduce evidence of a person's habit to imply that he probably acted in this instance in conformity with his habit.
In Mississippi under the common law such evidence would be inadmissible if there were no eyewitnesses. Rule 406 specifically provides to the contrary. See FRE 406, Advisory Committee's Note.
The evidence that a business acted in conformity with its routine practice is relevant. Of course, rebuttal is always permitted.
["Advisory Committee Note" substituted for "Comment," effective June 16, 2016; amended July 1, 2016, to note restyling.]
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