Safe Havens

(B)  Crimes of Moral Turpitude.[260]

While indecent exposure has been held not to involve moral turpitude, gross indecency has been held to involve moral turpitude.[261]

Board of Immigration Appeals:

Matter of Mueller, 11 I. & N. Dec. 268 (BIA 1965) (conviction of lewd and lascivious conduct by unlawfully, publicly and indecently exposing sex organ in violation of § 944.20(2) of the Wisconsin Statutes held not to be a crime involving moral turpitude, since no criminal intent was required, merely the conscious doing of one of the following acts: (1) commits an indecent act of sexual gratification with another with knowledge that they are in the presence of others; or  (2) publicly and indecently exposes a sex organ; or  (3) openly cohabits and associates with a person he knows is not his spouse under circumstances that imply sexual intercourse).

Matter of H, 7 I. & N. Dec. 301 (BIA 1956) (conviction of indecent exposure under § 28.567 (1) of the Michigan Statutes, Annotated (§ 335a, Michigan Penal Code), does not involve moral turpitude, since the statute does not require a specific intent and a person may be convicted, under the language of the statute, even though he has acted through negligent disregard of the presence of another person and the exposure was occasioned by physical necessity), overruling Matter of R, 2 I. & N. Dec. 633 (BIA 1946).

Matter of S, 5 I. & N. Dec. 576 (BIA 1953) (conviction of gross indecency in violation of § 338 of the Public Acts of Michigan (1931) may or may not involve moral turpitude, but where the record of conviction, upon which a determination of moral turpitude must be based, does not contain sufficient information upon which to determine the moral obloquy of the crime, a finding of moral turpitude may not be made), citing Matter of C, 5 I. & N. Dec. 65 (BIA 1953).

Matter of Z, 2 I. & N. Dec. 316 (BIA 1945) (since, for want of a definition of the term “gross indecency,” by a male with a male, it may not be concluded that every offense under Canada Criminal Code § 206 involves moral turpitude, and the record affords no aid in ascertaining the noncitizen’s conduct in the particular instance, it may not be concluded that the offense of which the appellant was convicted involves moral turpitude).

District Courts:

Toutounjian v. INS, 959 F.Supp. 598 (W.D.N.Y. 1997) (conviction of criminal indecency under Canada Criminal Code § 173(1)(a) for grabbing woman on her buttocks did not necessarily involve moral turpitude).

[260] See N. Tooby, J. Rollin & J. Foster, Crimes of Moral Turpitude § 9.99 (2005).

[261] 9 U.S. Dep’t of State, Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) § 40.21(a) N.2.3-3(a).