A person's propensity, or character, is not barred by the character rule if it is offered for any purpose other than to show a person's conduct on a particular occasion.

United States v. Pierson, 544 F.3d 933, 940-941 (8th Cir. 2008) (upholding trial court's admission of accused's prior conviction for indecent contact with a child; held, accused's prior conviction was admissible after he denied during direct and cross examinatiion that he would actually carry out his...If a criminal defendant offers evidence of his or her character circumstantially - to show he or she did not commit the crime charged -- the prosecution can offer rebutting evidence of defendant's character.

Cf. Hall v. United Insurance Company of America, 367 F.3d 1255, 1260-1261 (11th Cir. 2004) (holding, in plaintiff insured representative's action against defendant insurer for claim for benefits under the policy, that the trial court properly struck....A person's handwriting may be authenticated by a lay witness -- i.e., a lay witness may identify the author of handwriting -- if the witness is personally familiar with the putative author's handwriting and the witness did not acquire such familiarity for purposes of the litigation.

United States v. Clifford, 979 F.2d 896, 898-899 (1st Cir. 1992) ("From these facts, the jury reasonably could draw a series of inferences to connect defendant to the conspiracy. The jury could find from defendant's presence in the truck at the time of arrest, that he had been with the others inside the...Circumstantial evidence is not an inferior grade of evidence: it can be as strong as (or stronger than) any other kind of evidence, including eyewitness evidence, physical evidence, or scientific evidence.