Opinion ID: 10521
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Moral Turpitude Defined

Text: 8 The INS Act does not define moral turpitude, and legislative history does not reveal Congress' intent. Cabral v. INS, 15 F.3d 193, 195 (1st Cir.1994). Congress left the [term] to future administrative and judicial interpretation. Id. A section of the regulations discussing moral turpitude for purposes of deportation generalizes as follows: 9 § 40.21 Crimes involving moral turpitude and controlled substance violators. 10 (a) Crimes involving moral turpitude-- 11 (1) Acts must constitute a crime under criminal law of jurisdiction where they occurred. Before a finding of ineligibility under INA 212(a)(2)(A)(I)(I) may be made because of an admission of the commission of acts which constitute the essential elements of a crime involving moral turpitude, it must first be established that the acts constitute a crime under the criminal law of the jurisdiction where they occurred. A determination that a crime involves moral turpitude shall be based upon the moral standards generally prevailing in the United States. 12 22 C.F.R. § 40.21 (1996). This broad definition requires that a finding of deportability rest on a determination 1) that the petitioner committed an act considered a crime in the jurisdiction of occurrence and 2) that it is a crime of moral turpitude. 13 In Hamdan's case, the BIA aptly summarizes the body of judicial and administrative interpretation of the general definition: 14 Moral turpitude refers generally to conduct that shocks the public conscience as being inherently base, vile, or depraved, and contrary to the accepted rules of morality and the duties owed between persons or to society in general. See Matter of Franklin, Interim Decision 3228 (BIA 1994); Matter of Short, [Interim Decision 3125 (BIA 1989) ]; Matter or Danesh, 19 I & N Dec. 669 (BIA 1989); Matter of Flores, supra. Moral turpitude has been defined as an act which is per se morally reprehensible and intrinsically wrong, or malum in se, so it is the nature of the act itself and not the statutory prohibition of it which renders a crime one of moral turpitude. Matter of Franklin, supra; Matter of P-, 6 I & N Dec. 795 (BIA 1955). Among the tests to determine if a crime involves moral turpitude is whether the act is accompanied by a vicious motive or a corrupt mind. See Matter of Perez-Contreras, Interim Decision 3194 (BIA 1992); Matter of Serna; supra; Matter of Short, supra; Matter of Danesh, supra; Matter of Flores, supra. 15 BIA Decision at 4. We find no error in the BIA's definition of moral turpitude. 16