Ask The Lawyer – “Moral Turpitude”

Rebecca Green Thomason – Attorney at Law

Today during jury selection the judge asked if anyone had ever been convicted of a crime of moral turpitude. A gentleman approached the judge to ask if a conviction for the possession of marijuana would take him off of the jury. There are approximately eighty laws in the Alabama Code dealing with crimes of moral turpitude. Each law prohibits a person who has been found guilty of a crime of moral turpitude from holding office, serving on a board, voting, or serving on a jury.

For instance the state constitution (Article VIII, Section (b)) says: No person convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude, or who is mentally incompetent, shall be qualified to vote until restoration of civil and political rights or removal of disability.

But, what is a crime of moral turpitude? The word is from the Latin word turpis which means foul, disgraceful or ugly. Moral turpitude refers to moral standards, rather than legal standards, its definition changes over time and from place to place. There can be a lot of difference between what is legal and what is right or moral.  It is not wrong to run a stop sign. It is illegal. There was a time that it was legal to own slaves. In the USA during this time of our history most of us believe slavery to be morally wrong.

Offenses that have an element of fraud, larceny, or intent to harm persons or property generally involve moral turpitude. Almost all felonies involve acts considered to be moral turpitude. In general a felony is any crime where the person convicted can serve at least a year and a day behind bars. Murder, assault, arson, theft, shoplifting, rape in any degree, sodomy in any degree, sexual abuse in any degree, incest, sexual torture, enticing a child to enter a vehicle for immoral purposes, soliciting a child by computer, production of obscene matter involving a minor, production of obscene matter, parents or guardians permitting children to engage in obscene matter, possession of obscene matter, possession with intent to distribute child pornography, or treason are all crimes of moral turpitude.  Domestic violence may also be considered a crime of moral turpitude.

We know that some crimes do not involve moral turpitude. Alabama courts have decided that doing business without a license, violation of liquor laws, helping a prisoner escape, possession of marijuana, prostitution, and driving under the influence are crimes that do not involve moral turpitude.

For immigrants and non-citizens, crimes involving moral turpitude can cause deportation from the United States.

There are laws to protect people from employment discrimination; however, employers may deny employment if you have been convicted of a felony or of a crime of moral turpitude. Also conviction of certain crimes will prohibit the possession of any firearm for any reason.

Conviction of a crime may let you out of jury duty. You may also be unemployed, unable to vote, and unarmed. There is no such thing as an insignificant conviction. Anyone who has been arrested for anything should seek advice from a criminal defense attorney.