Kentucky · Snapshot 09/05/2026

KRE 404: Character evidence and evidence of other crimes

(a) Character evidence generally.  Evidence of a person's character or a trait of
character is not admissible for the purpose of proving action in conformity
therewith on a particular occasion, except:
(1) Character of accused.  Evidence of a pertinent trait o f character or of general
moral character offered by an accused, or by the prosecution to rebut the same,
or if evidence of a trait of character of the alleged victim of the crime is
offered by an accused and admitted under Rule 404(a)(2), evidence of the
same trait of character of the accused offered by the prosecution;
(2) Character of victim generally.  Evidence of a pertinent trait of character of the
victim of the crime offered by an accused, other than in a prosecution for
criminal sexual conduct, or by the prosecution to rebut the same, or evidence
of a character trait of peacefulness of the victim offered by the prosecution in
a homicide case to rebut evidence that the victim was the first aggressor;
(3) Character of witnesses.  Evidence of the character of witnesses, as provided in
KRE 607, KRE 608, and KRE 609.
(b) Other crimes, wrongs, or acts.  Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not
admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity
therewith. It may, however, be admissible:
(1) If offered for some other purpose, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent,
preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident; or
(2) If so inextricably intertwined with other evidence essential to the case that
separation of the two (2) could not be accomplished without serious adverse
effect on the offering party.
(c) Notice requirement.  In a criminal case, if the prosecution intends to introduce
evidence pursuant to subdivision (b) of this rule as a part of its case in chief, it shall
give reasonable pretrial notice to the defendant of its intention to offer such
evidence. Upon failure of the prosecution to give such notice the court may exclude
the evidence offered under subdivision (b) or for good c ause shown may excuse the
failure to give such notice and grant the defendant a continuance or such other
remedy as is necessary to avoid unfair prejudice caused by such failure.

Where this section sits in the code

KENTUCKY RULES OF EVIDENCE ----- Legislative Research Commission Note (7/1/92). Although denominated "rules," the elements of the Kentucky Rules of Evidence were enacted as statutes by the Kentucky General Assembly. See 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 88; 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 324. Originally codified as KRS Chapter 422A in 1990, the Kentucky Rules of Evidence were renumbered by the Reviser of Statutes, effective July 1, 1992, pursuant to 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 324, sec. 34. By an order dated May 12, 1992, the Kentucky Supreme Court "adopt[ed] so much of the Kentucky Rules of Evidence as enacted by HB 241 [1992 Ky. Acts ch. 324] as comes within the rule making power of the Court, pursuant to Ky. Const. sec. 116."

(a) Character evidence generally. Evidence of a person's character or a trait of

character is not admissible for the purpose of proving action in conformity

therewith on a particular occasion, except:

(1) Character of accused. Evidence of a pertinent trait o f character or of general

moral character offered by an accused, or by the prosecution to rebut the same,

or if evidence of a trait of character of the alleged victim of the crime is

offered by an accused and admitted under Rule 404(a)(2), evidence of the

same trait of character of the accused offered by the prosecution;

(2) Character of victim generally. Evidence of a pertinent trait of character of the

victim of the crime offered by an accused, other than in a prosecution for

criminal sexual conduct, or by the prosecution to rebut the same, or evidence

of a character trait of peacefulness of the victim offered by the prosecution in

a homicide case to rebut evidence that the victim was the first aggressor;

(3) Character of witnesses. Evidence of the character of witnesses, as provided in

KRE 607, KRE 608, and KRE 609.

(b) Other crimes, wrongs, or acts. Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not

admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity

therewith. It may, however, be admissible:

(1) If offered for some other purpose, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent,

preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident; or

(2) If so inextricably intertwined with other evidence essential to the case that

separation of the two (2) could not be accomplished without serious adverse

effect on the offering party.

evidence pursuant to subdivision (b) of this rule as a part of its case in chief, it shall

give reasonable pretrial notice to the defendant of its intention to offer such

evidence. Upon failure of the prosecution to give such notice the court may exclude

the evidence offered under subdivision (b) or for good c ause shown may excuse the

failure to give such notice and grant the defendant a continuance or such other

remedy as is necessary to avoid unfair prejudice caused by such failure.

Collected 2026-09-05T21:00:10Z. Source file · JSON

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