Also known as: habit · custom · habit evidence · routine practice
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Evidence of a person's or organization's regular practice admitted to prove that the person or organization acted in accordance with that practice on a particular occasion.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A security guard testifies that he always records the working condition of each alarm when checking the system and notes any problems in his report. Although he cannot recall the specific night in question, his systematic routine supports admission of the log entries to show the alarms were checked that evening.
Victor owns a large farm and routinely transports seasonal workers unrestrained in the back of flatbed trucks on rough dirt roads. When Maria is injured after being thrown from the truck, evidence of this regular practice is offered to show how Victor handled worker transport on the day of the accident.
Highland Farms regularly drives its cattle along an unrestricted highway without barriers. When the cattle stray onto abutting land, evidence of this established practice is introduced to show how the farm handled the herd on the day the intrusion occurred.
Harold Hunt regularly uses only open-hand strikes when defending himself in confrontations. In a later altercation where he is accused of causing serious injury, evidence of this consistent practice is offered to show the level of force he likely applied on that occasion.
The Department of Social Services of the City of New York maintains a routine practice of requiring pregnant employees to take unpaid leave. When employees challenge the practice as unconstitutional, evidence of this established custom is used to show how the department acted toward the plaintiffs.
Erie Railroad Co. follows a long-standing practice of maintaining its tracks according to state tort standards. When a diversity case arises, evidence of this routine practice is offered to show how the railroad conducted its operations on the day of the incident.
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.
Supporting sources
…Charter of the Franchises of England, that none shall be imprisoned nor put out of his Freehold, nor of his Franchises nor free Custom, unless it be by the Law of the Land . . . ."[^maj-18] Four years later another statute provided "[t]hat no Man of what Estate or Condition that he be, shall be put out of Land or Tenement,…