What is the meaning of the legal term moral turpitude? A crime that is said to show moral turpitude is one that is seen by the public as a particularly immoral or vile crime done with severe recklessness or evil intention. While that is the meaning, the legal definition leaves a lot of room for interpretation.
Along with the criminal penalties that accompany the crime, a conviction of a crime said to show moral turpitude can result in the deportation of non-citizens, even those with legal residency. If you plead guilty to a crime of moral turpitude, then you risk deportation. Your criminal defense lawyer will advise you that this is a deportable crime when you are discussing your plea options. The risk of deportation leads some critics to believe that the vague legal meaning of moral turpitude is unconstitutional. That there should be a clearer meaning for its application in immigration law, at least.
What Is the Meaning of “Crime of Moral Turpitude?”
There is no specific legal meaning to a crime of moral turpitude, just that the crime shows a level of evil intention or recklessness that would shock the general public. The legal meaning leaves room for interpretation based on society’s standards and cultural interpretation. When deciding if the crime shows moral turpitude or not, the court will look at societal expectations for the duty humans owe other humans.
Since the meaning is highly subjective it leaves room for judicial discretion. This is where a lot of the controversy comes into play, as the meaning of moral turpitude is central to deportation decisions in immigration cases.
However, even though the law does not explicitly label some crimes as showing moral turpitude, the court will recognize precedents. In the past, the following crimes have been ruled as moral turpitude crimes:
- mayhem
- animal fighting
- rape
- fraud
- incest
- involuntary manslaughter, in some cases
- kidnapping
- aggravated assault
- murder
- child abuse
- spousal abuse
- voluntary manslaughter
- theft
- robbery
The above crimes have been labelled as crimes of moral turpitude in immigration law precedents. Therefore, appeals of moral turpitude labels are less likely to succeed for convictions of the above crimes even though the legal meaning is vague. Appeals may still be successful if there was a miscarriage of justice in the legal process. Keep in mind the legal meanings of the above crimes may differ from state to state. Something that may be charged as a certain crime in one state may be charged as another in another state. This should be taken into consideration when determining the meaning of moral turpitude.