Safe Havens

(B)  Crimes of Moral Turpitude.[146]

Nuisance is often held not to be a crime involving moral turpitude.[147] 

Matter of A, 3 I. & N. Dec. 168 (BIA 1948) (conviction held not CMT under Massachusetts nuisance statute imposing criminal liability upon anyone keeping or maintaining a building or part of a building used for prostitution, assignation, or lewdness, since there was no requirement of evil intent or guilty knowledge, the statute was so broadly drawn that the court could not find that a violation in every instance would be accompanied by an evil intent to practice immorality for hire, and the complaint charged the crime only in the words of the statute, and was not “of sufficient detail” to allow a determination that the offense involved moral turpitude).

[146] See N. Tooby, J. Rollin & J. Foster, Crimes of Moral Turpitude § 9.56 (2005).

[147] 9 U.S. Dep’t of State, Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) § 40.21(a) N.2.3-3(b)(3) (no crime involving moral turpitude where convicted of “Creating or maintaining a nuisance (where knowledge that premises were used for prostitution is not necessary)”).