Crimes of Moral Turpitude

Where an offense is committed for the purpose of committing another offense, a conviction will be considered a crime involving moral turpitude if the target offense constitutes a CMT.  For example, assault for the purpose of committing an offense is assessed by whether the offense intended to be committed involves moral turpitude.[161]  The same rule holds true for the offense of burglary, where it is committed for the purpose of committing another offense.  See generally § 8.23, supra.  Counsel can argue that where the offense intended to be committed is not unequivocally an offense of moral turpitude, the DHS may not go beyond the record of conviction to establish whether the underlying felony involves moral turpitude.[2]

Battery committed with intent to commit a CMT offense constitutes a crime of moral turpitude.  See § 9.16, supra, for more cases.

Aguirre-Mereno v. INS, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 15343 (9th Cir. 1996) (battery with intent to commit sexual assault is a crime of moral turpitude).

            Encouraging commission of an offense is held NOT to be a CMT.

 Matter of Cassisi, 10 I. & N. Dec. 136 (BIA 1963) (crime of encouraging abortion not a crime involving moral turpitude).

            Burglary.  See § 9.51, supra.

Cuevas-Gaspar v. Gonzales, 430 F.3d 1013 (9th Cir. Dec. 7, 2005) (Washington conviction of being an accomplice to residential burglary, in violation of Wash. Rev. Code § § 9A.52.025(1), 9A.08.020(3), defined as one who "enters or remains unlawfully in a dwelling" with an "intent to commit a crime," did not necessarily constitute crime of moral turpitude under categorical analysis, since the offense of burglary encompasses some conduct that does not qualify as a crime of moral turpitude, because "the act of entering is not itself "base, vile or depraved," and that it is the particular crime that accompanies the act of entry that determines whether the offense is one involving moral turpitude. See Matter of M, 2 I. & N. Dec. at 723. Because, under Washington law, an intent to commit any crime satisfies the accompanying crime element of burglary, the offense encompasses conduct that falls outside the definition of a crime of moral turpitude.").

[162] Matter of Short, 20 I. & N. Dec. 136 (BIA 1989), withdrawing from Matter of Baker, 15 I. & N. Dec. 50 (BIA 1974); Matter of M, 2 I. & N. Dec. 525 (BIA 1946).

[161] See, e.g., Matter of Beato, 10 I. & N. Dec. 730 (BIA 1964) (assault in the second degree involves moral turpitude not because it constitutes a felony but because the record revealed that the felonies intended to be committed were carnal abuse and rape).