This file contains case capsule summaries of decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals, and all federal courts, that state what offenses are and are not crimes of moral turpitude. All BIA cases from 1 I. & N. Dec. 1 to the present are included. All reported federal cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal, and district courts from 1940 to the present are included. The vast majority of the indexed decisions are cases in which the phrase "moral turpitude" was interpreted for immigration purposes; the table also includes a handful of federal court decisions interpreting "moral turpitude" for witness impeachment purposes, for whatever persuasive value they may have. These cases are signaled by an asterisk. About 2000 decisions were reviewed for possible inclusion in this table.

     The case summaries are organized alphabetically by a brief verbal definition of the crime involved in the case.

     A determination as to the presence or absence of moral turpitude is based on the crime as defined by the statute and the record of conviction at the time of the decision. Consequently, the cases collected below should be used as the starting point rather than as a substitute for legal research.

     Cases designated as "Table" cases are unpublished cases which ordinarily may not be cited to the rendering court.

     To use this index, click on the letter that corresponds to the first letter of the first word in the name of the crime you are looking for.

Example:

     If you are looking for cases involving "adultery", press the letter "A" or if you are looking for cases involving "obtaining money by false pretenses", press "N-O".