The character of a criminal defendant is admissible to show the defendant's conduct when (i) defendant uses his or her character circumstantially, (ii) when the prosecution rebuts evidence of defendant's character used circumstantially, and (iii) when defendant uses character of victim to show victim's conduct.

Sparks v. Gilley Trucking Co., Inc., 992 F.2d 50, pin? (4th Cir. 1993) (negligence action arising from a collision; defendant alleged plaintiff's contributory negligence for speeding at the time of the accident; court allowed defendant's evidence of plaintiff's prior...The prohibition against circumstantial use of character -- the use of character or disposition to show conduct on a particular occasion -- applies in trials of civil actions.

Emersons, Ltd. v. Max Wolman Co., 388 F. Supp. 729, 732 (D.D.C. 1975) (holding, in plaintiff insured's action against defendant insurance company for recovery under an insurance policy for stipulated business interruption loss....Although settlement negotiations and offers are inadmissible (i) to show the validity or invalidity of a claim when validity is in dispute, (ii) to show the amount of damages when the amount is in dispute, or (iii) to impeach by showing a prior inconsistent statement or specific contradiction, settlement evidence is admissible if it is offered on the issue of costs or wen it is offered to counter a claim of undue delay.

Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678, 690-691 (2001) (a "Guantanamo case": "But we have upheld preventive detention based on dangerousness only when limited to specially dangerous individuals and subject to strong procedural protections. Compare Hendricks, [521 U.S. 346 (1997)], at 368 (upholding scheme that...The federal constitutional guarantee of due process allows involuntary civil commitment only on clear and convincing evidence.