Ky. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 500
Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 500.020 (2026)

Offenses defined by statute -- Common law abolished

✓ current as of May 2026
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(1) Common law offenses are abolished and no act or omission shall constitute a criminal offense unless designated a crime or violation under this code or another statute of this state.

(2) This provision shall not affect the power of a court to punish for contempt or to employ any sanction authorized by law for the enforcement of an order or a civil judgment or decree. Effective: January 1, 1975 History: Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 2, effective January 1, 1975.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1990–2025 · leading case: Hoskins v. Maricle, 150 S.W.3d 1 (Ky. 2004).
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Hoskins v. Maricle, 150 S.W.3d 1 (Ky. 2004). · cites it 2× “KRS 500.020(1) (common law offenses abolished); Cornelison v.”
Johnson v. Commonwealth, 449 S.W.3d 350 (Ky. 2014). · cites it 14× “The former provides that “[c]ommon law offenses are abolished and no act or omission shall constitute a criminal offense unless designated a crime or violation under this code or another statute of this state.”
Lofthouse v. Commonwealth, 13 S.W.3d 236 (Ky. 2000). · cites it 2× “" KRS 500.020(1). The legislature criminalized Appellant's act of transferring narcotics to a second person when it made drug trafficking a crime pursuant to KRS 218A.”
Hayes v. Commonwealth, 870 S.W.2d 786 (Ky. 1994). · cites it 2× “KRS 500.020. Defenses, like offenses, are statutorily defined, and statutorily limited.”
Robertson v. Commonwealth, 82 S.W.3d 832 (Ky. 2002). · cites it 2× “020(1)(b) and manslaughter in the second degree by KRS 507.”
Commonwealth v. Morris, 142 S.W.3d 654 (Ky. 2004). · cites it 2× “040 provides, inter alia: (1) A person is guilty of manslaughter in the second degree when he wantonly causes the death of another person including, but not limited to, situations where the death results from the person's: (a) Operation of a motor vehicle. . . . (Emphasis…”
McGuire v. Commonwealth, 885 S.W.2d 931 (Ky. 1994). “” KRS 500.020(1). All substantive law related to criminal responsibility, including general principles of liability, accountability, justification, and responsibility (covered in KRS Chapters 501-504) is now statutory, and instructions should be stated within the context of the…”
Estes v. Commonwealth, 952 S.W.2d 701 (Ky. 1997). · cites it 2× “KRS 500.020(1) specifically states that "no act or omission shall constitute a criminal offense unless designated a crime or violation under this Code or another statute of this state.”
Commonwealth v. Adkins, 331 S.W.3d 260 (Ky. 2011). “The Commonwealth primarily maintains that Adkins's defense was not the sort of affirmative, statutory defense at issue in the cases upon which the Court of Appeals relied, but is better understood, as the trial court understood it, as simply the denial or converse of one of the…”
Albert Marshall v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 22× “020(1) only permits the General Assembly, not Louisville Metro or any other city, to define criminal offenses and fix their penalties.”
Taylor v. Commonwealth, 799 S.W.2d 818 (Ky. 1990). “According to KRS 500.020(1), an act may constitute a criminal offense if designated a crime or violation under the penal code or under a statute outside that code.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 500.020(1) — 8 cases
Hoskins v. Maricle, 150 S.W.3d 1 (Ky. 2004). “KRS 500.020(1) (common law offenses abolished); Cornelison v.”
Johnson v. Commonwealth, 449 S.W.3d 350 (Ky. 2014). “The former provides that “[c]ommon law offenses are abolished and no act or omission shall constitute a criminal offense unless designated a crime or violation under this code or another statute of this state.”
Lofthouse v. Commonwealth, 13 S.W.3d 236 (Ky. 2000). “" KRS 500.020(1). The legislature criminalized Appellant's act of transferring narcotics to a second person when it made drug trafficking a crime pursuant to KRS 218A.”
Commonwealth v. Morris, 142 S.W.3d 654 (Ky. 2004). “040 provides, inter alia: (1) A person is guilty of manslaughter in the second degree when he wantonly causes the death of another person including, but not limited to, situations where the death results from the person's: (a) Operation of a motor vehicle. . . . (Emphasis…”
McGuire v. Commonwealth, 885 S.W.2d 931 (Ky. 1994). “” KRS 500.020(1). All substantive law related to criminal responsibility, including general principles of liability, accountability, justification, and responsibility (covered in KRS Chapters 501-504) is now statutory, and instructions should be stated within the context of the…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 500.020(3) — 1 case
Robertson v. Commonwealth, 82 S.W.3d 832 (Ky. 2002). “020(1)(b) and manslaughter in the second degree by KRS 507.”
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