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The Categorical Approach For Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude After Silva-Trevino, Pooja R. Dadhania

Faculty Scholarship

A conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) can result in harsh immigration penalties such as removal from the United States for noncitizens. The designation of a crime as a CIMT depends on whether moral turpitude inheres in its elements. Administrative adjudicators and federal courts have thus been using a categorical approach that focuses on the elements of a crime to determine whether it is a CIMT. Although variations in the categorical approach have developed among the circuits, the categorical approach has customarily employed two steps, both focusing on the elements of the conviction rather than the actions of …