youthful offenders.
(1) A person is guilty of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon when he
possesses, manufactures, or transports a firearm when he has been convicted of a
felony, as defined by the laws of the jurisdiction in which he was convicted, in any
state or federal court and has not:
(a) Been granted a full pardon by the Governor or by the President of the United
States; or
(b) Been granted relief by the United States Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to
the Federal Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended.
(2) (a) Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is a Class D felony unless the
firearm possessed is a handgun in which case it is a Class C felony.
(b) If a felon is convicted of a criminal offense other than possession of a firearm
by a convicted felon, and he or she possessed a firearm in commission of that
offense, then the felon shall be penalized for violating this section one (1)
class more severely if it is a second or subsequent violation of this section.
(3) The provisions of this section shall apply to any youthful offender convicted of a
felony offense under the laws of this Commonwealth. The exceptions contained in
KRS 527.100 prohibiting possession of a handgun by a minor shall not apply to this
section.
(4) The provisions of this section with respect to handguns, shall apply only to persons
convicted after January 1, 1975, and with respect to other firearms, to persons
convicted after July 15, 1994.
Effective: July 14, 2018
History: Amended 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 123, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2018. -- Amended
1994 Ky. Acts ch. 30, sec. 3, effective July 15, 1994; and ch. 396, sec. 10, effective
July 15, 1994. -- Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 237, effective January 1, 1975.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
97
cases (
42 in the last 5 years), 1979–2026 · leading case:
Posey v. Commonwealth, 185 S.W.3d 170 (Ky. 2006).
Posey v. Commonwealth, 185 S.W.3d 170 (Ky. 2006).
· cites it 48× “Appellant also filed a motion to dismiss the firearm possession charge, arguing that KRS 527.040 (barring convicted felons from possessing handguns) was unconstitutional.”
St. Clair v. Commonwealth, 140 S.W.3d 510 (Ky. 2004).
· cites it 4× “For purposes of Kentucky's Felon in Possession of a Handgun statute, KRS 527.040, however, the courts have held that a person is a "convicted felon" upon entry of his or her plea of guilty.”
Dickerson v. Commonwealth, 174 S.W.3d 451 (Ky. 2005).
· cites it 3× “Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; KRS 527.040(1). Wiley Pinson, a former officer of the Fulton Police Department, testified that he obtained from Appellant's wife a brown-and-black-colored Smith & Wesson .”
Johnson v. Commonwealth, 90 S.W.3d 39 (Ky. 2003).
· cites it 4× “KRS 527.040. Johnson does not dispute the first element.”
Commonwealth v. Jones, 283 S.W.3d 665 (Ky. 2009).
· cites it 2× “KRS 527.040(1). "Firearm," for the purposes of this statute, "means any weapon which will expel a projectile by the action of an explosive.”
Eary v. Commonwealth, 659 S.W.2d 198 (Ky. 1983).
· cites it 5× “Movant was convicted on a two-count indictment of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, KRS 527.040, and of being a persistent felony offender in the first degree, KRS 532.”
Boulder v. Commonwealth, 610 S.W.2d 615 (Ky. 1980).
· cites it 3× “The same prior felony was then used in the PFO phase of the trial to enhance the sentence to five years and also to enhance the 15-year sentence for the first degree assault of “Cynthia” to 35 years. The prosecutor bombarded John by using his status as a felon against him three…”
Thomas v. Commonwealth, 95 S.W.3d 828 (Ky. 2003).
· cites it 5× “However, before the trial court ruled on Appellant’s request, he was arrested on December 24, 1999, in Muhlenberg County and charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon pursuant to KRS 527.040, based on his guilty plea to the Daviess County drug charge.”
Cook v. Commonwealth, 129 S.W.3d 351 (Ky. 2004).
· cites it 2× “3d 828, 829 (2003) (defendant was a convicted felon for purposes of KRS 527.040 where he had been convicted but not yet sentenced for prior offense).”
Grace v. Commonwealth, 915 S.W.2d 754 (Ky. Ct. App. 1996).
· cites it 10× “KRS 527.040. The appellant was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment to be served concurrently with the sentence he had already been serving.”
United States v. Juan Castillo-Rivera, 853 F.3d 218 (5th Cir. 2017).
“"[W]hen he has been convicted of a felony, as Statute includes felonies from other states that defined by the laws of the jurisdiction in which he carry punishment of up to a year in prison (MD, 13 Kentucky Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.040 was convicted, in any state or federal…”
Parson v. Commonwealth, 144 S.W.3d 775 (Ky. 2004).
· cites it 2× “2d 198, 200 (1983) (penalty for conviction of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, KRS 527.040, could be further enhanced under PFO statute where prior felony conviction used to prove the convicted felon element of the underlying offense was a different conviction from…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 527.040(1) — 13 cases
Commonwealth v. Jones, 283 S.W.3d 665 (Ky. 2009).
“KRS 527.040(1). "Firearm," for the purposes of this statute, "means any weapon which will expel a projectile by the action of an explosive.”
Dickerson v. Commonwealth, 174 S.W.3d 451 (Ky. 2005).
“Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; KRS 527.040(1). Wiley Pinson, a former officer of the Fulton Police Department, testified that he obtained from Appellant's wife a brown-and-black-colored Smith & Wesson .”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 527.040(1)(b) — 1 case
Grace v. Commonwealth, 915 S.W.2d 754 (Ky. Ct. App. 1996).
“KRS 527.040. The appellant was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment to be served concurrently with the sentence he had already been serving.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 527.040(2) — 4 cases
Dickerson v. Commonwealth, 174 S.W.3d 451 (Ky. 2005).
“Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; KRS 527.040(1). Wiley Pinson, a former officer of the Fulton Police Department, testified that he obtained from Appellant's wife a brown-and-black-colored Smith & Wesson .”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 527.040(2)(a) — 6 cases
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 527.040(2)(b) — 2 cases
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 527.040(4) — 1 case
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 527.040(l)(a) — 1 case
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 527.040(l)(b) — 1 case
Eary v. Commonwealth, 659 S.W.2d 198 (Ky. 1983).
“Movant was convicted on a two-count indictment of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, KRS 527.040, and of being a persistent felony offender in the first degree, KRS 532.”
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