November 19, 2025 | Criminal Defense
Every criminal charge in Kentucky must meet four key requirements before a person can be convicted. These are known as the elements of a crime: actus reus (the criminal act), mens rea (the mental state), causation, and concurrence. Each element must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
If the prosecution fails to establish even one, the defendant cannot be found guilty under Kentucky law. Continue reading to learn more about what the four elements of a crime are and how they work in practice.
1. Actus Reus: The Criminal Act
The first element, actus reus, refers to the physical act (or omission) that makes up the offense. This element refers to the conduct that violates the law, such as taking property or assaulting another person.
Kentucky law generally requires the act to be voluntary, which means a person cannot be held criminally responsible for unconscious behavior. For instance, if someone moves involuntarily during a seizure and causes harm to another person, that conduct would likely not meet the standard for actus reus.
An omission, or failure to act, can also serve as actus reus when a person has a legal duty to act. Examples include a parent’s duty to care for their child and a caregiver’s duty to provide necessary medical assistance. When someone fails to meet that duty and serious harm results, criminal charges may follow.
2. Mens Rea: The Mental State
The second element, mens rea, focuses on the defendant’s mental state at the time of the act.
Under Kentucky Revised Statutes § 501.020, the state recognizes four levels of culpability:
- Intentionally: Acting with a conscious purpose to cause a particular result and/or engage in certain conduct.
- Knowingly: Being aware that the conduct is of a particular nature and that a certain result is practically certain to occur.
- Wantonly: Being aware of a substantial, unjustifiable risk and consciously disregarding it.
- Recklessly: Failing to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a reasonable person would have recognized.
Different crimes require different mental states. For example, the more serious forms of homicide usually require intent, while reckless driving charges may require a lower degree of culpability. If the prosecution cannot prove the required mental state for the specific charge(s) in question, the defendant cannot be found guilty of that crime.
3. Causation: The Connection Between the Act and the Result
The third element, causation, links the defendant’s actions to the resulting harm.
Causation in this context has two parts:
- Cause in fact: The harm would not have occurred “but for” the defendant’s conduct.
- Proximate cause: The result must be a foreseeable and natural consequence of the act, without an unexpected event breaking the chain of causation.
If an independent event (such as an unforeseeable medical error) causes the ultimate harm, it can interrupt the chain of causation and weaken the prosecution’s case.
4. Concurrence: Timing Between the Act and Intent
The fourth element, concurrence, ensures that the criminal act and the criminal intent occur at the same time. In other words, the defendant must have had the required mental state when performing the act that caused harm.
If someone acts accidentally but later wishes that harm had occurred, that later thought doesn’t create criminal liability. Similarly, if a person forms intent but doesn’t act on it, no crime has occurred. The law requires that both the actus reus and the mens rea align in time and purpose.
Contact Our Louisville Criminal Defense Attorneys for a Free Consultation
If you’ve been charged with a crime in Kentucky, it’s important to have a firm grasp on how these elements apply to your case. An experienced criminal defense lawyer can help you do just that, and, from there, work toward as favorable an outcome as is possible under the law.
Contact a Louisville criminal defense attorney at Suhre & Associates DUI and Criminal Defense Lawyers to get started with a free consultation. Remember that you are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, so there may still be time to fight back against your charges.
For more information, contact the criminal defense attorneys at Suhre & Associates DUI and Criminal Defense Lawyers give us a call today at (502) 371-7000 or visit us at our Louisville Law Office.
Suhre & Associates DUI and Criminal Defense Lawyers – Louisville
214 Clay Street, Suite A,
Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 371-7000
