Criminal Consequences of Misdemeanor Offenses – Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude

If you are a Green Card holder (Lawful Permanent Resident), you can still be deported from the U.S. if you have pled guilty or no contest to a misdemeanor offense if it is an offense that is considered a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude. Crimes involving moral turpitude are those that are considered to involve conduct that is: base, vile, depraved and contrary to the accepted rules of morality and duties owed between persons, or to society in general. A conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude by an alien within five years after his date of admission is a deportable offense, if convicted of a crime for which a sentence of one year or longer may be imposed. INA §237(a)(2)(A)(i). Further, a conviction of two or more crimes involving moral turpitude that do not arise out of a single scheme of criminal conduct, at any time after admission, irrespective of whether there was confinement, are deportable offenses. INA §237(a)(2)(A)(ii).

It is important to keep in mind that even if an accused receives a withhold of adjudication, this will not matter if any punishment, penalty or restraint is imposed. INA §101(a)(48). Even though a withhold of adjudication is not considered a formal conviction in Florida, if any sentence involving probation, or even a fine, is imposed by a judge after a plea of nolo contendere (No Contest), it will still be considered a “conviction” for immigration purposes and trigger potential deportation consequences.

Many individuals who hold a valid green card are also under the impression that a conviction for a misdemeanor qualifies as something called a “petty offense” and is therefore not deportable. This is not necessarily true when it comes to crimes involving moral turpitude. In order to avoid deportation consequences for commission of a “petty offense”, the lawful permanent resident must have only committed one crime that would be considered a petty offense within five years of admission, the crime must be one for which the maximum penalty is not one year or more in jail and the sentence did not exceed six months. The reason this is important is because under Florida law, the maximum penalty that can be imposed for a second degree misdemeanor is 60 days in jail, but a first degree misdemeanor is punishable by up to a full year. This means that one conviction for a first degree misdemeanor might still be deportable.

A good example to explain this is the crime of Petit Theft. Theft charges will often be considered crimes involving moral turpitude. Florida law considers theft of items under $100.00 to be a second degree misdemeanor, while theft of items valued at over $100 and less than $750 are first degree misdemeanors. The reason this is important is because Florida law punishes first degree misdemeanors by up to one full year in jail. That means, if a sentence of over six months is imposed it would remove the conviction from the petty offense exception, whereas a second degree misdemeanor could not due to the maximum jail sentence of 60 days. Further, even two second degree misdemeanor convictions within five years of admission, if considered crimes of moral turpitude, would be considered deportable offenses if they didn’t arise out of a single scheme of conduct.

There are numerous examples and caveats to how immigration law will apply to your criminal case and whether you have committed a crime involving moral turpitude that is deportable. There are even differences to the rules described above depending on whether you are considered “inadmissible” or “deportable” under immigration law. Contact our experienced Pasco County criminal defense and immigration attorney to evaluate your case if you have been arrested.