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KRS 500.070

Burden of proof -- Defenses

Known as the Kentucky Penal Code

The act spans §§ 500–500 (16 sections).

Applied in 61 court decisions — leading case Patterson v. New York (1977)

Most recently applied in Hughes v. Commonwealth (October 2014)

Effective: January 1, 1975 History: Created 1974 Ky

How often courts cite this section

19771980199020002010201460
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) The Commonwealth has the burden of proving every element of the case beyond a reasonable doubt, except as provided in subsection (3). This provision, however, does not require disproof of any element that is entitled a "defense," as that term is used in this code, unless the evidence tending to support the defense is of such probative force that in the absence of countervailing evidence the defendant would be entitled to a directed verdict of acquittal.

(2) No court can require notice of a defense prior to trial time.

(3) The defendant has the burden of proving an element of a case only if the statute which contains that element provides that the defendant may prove such element in exculpation of his conduct.

Official source: Kentucky General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Kentucky statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.