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70 Fla. L. Rev. 225 (2018)
Should They Stay or Should They Go: Rethinking the Use of Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude in Immigration Law

handle is hein.journals/uflr70 and id is 233 raw text is: SHOULD THEY STAY OR SHOULD THEY GO: RETHINKING THE USE OF CRIMES INVOLVING MORAL TURPITUDE IN IMMIGRATION LAW Sara Salem* Abstract Although absent from modem English conversation, the words moral turpitude continue to carry devastating consequences for undocumented aliens living in the United States. Under federal immigration law, an alien convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude may be deported or denied entry into the United States. Perhaps most significantly, nearly all imiigration relief is conditioned on an alien having never been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude. So the question becomes, what is a crime involving moral turpitude? There is currently no clear answer. No one standard exists for determining whether a conviction qualifies as a crime involving moral turpitude. Circuit courts are split, each applying their own body of case law to determine issues of moral turpitude that reach their dockets. This Note reviews the history and inconsistencies of CIMT jurisprudence, explains Attorney General Mukasey's failed attempt to standardize the area, and finally recommends a standard approach to be applied by the BIA and circuit courts across the country. INTRODUCTION ..............................................226 I. BACKGROUND .......................................230 II. PRE-SILVA-TREVINO IAPPROACH ............ .........233 A. Step One: The Traditional Categorical Approach.........234 1. Least-Culpable-Conduct Test...................234 2. Common-Case Approach ........... ........235 3. Realistic-Probability Test........ .........236 B. Step Two: The Modified Categorical Approach.............237 III. ATTORNEY GENERAL MUKASEY'S FAILED ATTEMPT TO STANDARDIZE .........................................238 A. Silva-Trevino 3-Step Approach ........... ......239 B. Post-Silva-Trevino I Discord ............ ......241 * J.D. Candidate 2018, University of Florida Levin College of Law. I would foremost like to thank my dad, Mehrdad Salem, and David Barton for their enthusiastic support and advice throughout the writing process. Additionally, I would like to thank the student editors and staff of the Florida Law Review for their invaluable guidance. 225

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