Shoplifting, Larceny, Robbery, Theft Stupid Act of shoplifting

[PettyTheft]

Hello --

I was charged with a misdemeanor for petty larceny in NYC
I hired a criminal defense lawyer who tried to reduce it down to
ACD since htis has been my first evr arrest. The DA wouldnt agree
though and was ready to push the case to trial.

In any event today before trial he offered us the violation 140.20
which as per what my lawyer told me was not a crime from criminal
point of view

Now i took the plea for disorderly conduct violation in NY and i know
that since there has been an arrest and i was asked to do some community
service would it casue any immigration problems

I checked with some immigration attorneys and they said as of what the law stands today u will not have issues with H1 visa revalidation or naturalization
but u will need to disclose it on any forms and be prepared to answer questions when asked about it

Are they correct. Can it be safe to travel outside the country having a discorderly conduct conviction on record and carrying the disposition papers ashowing the same. Also what about naturalization .. right now only my labour is being preceessed

Any input is appreciated and thanks in advance

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Hello --

I was charged with a misdemeanor for petty larceny in NYC
I hired a criminal defense lawyer who tried to reduce it down to
ACD since htis has been my first evr arrest. The DA wouldnt agree
though and was ready to push the case to trial.

In any event today before trial he offered us the violation 140.20
which as per what my lawyer told me was not a crime from criminal
point of view

Now i took the plea for disorderly conduct violation in NY and i know
that since there has been an arrest and i was asked to do some community
service would it casue any immigration problems

I checked with some immigration attorneys and they said as of what the law stands today u will not have issues with H1 visa revalidation or naturalization
but u will need to disclose it on any forms and be prepared to answer questions when asked about it

Are they correct. Can it be safe to travel outside the country having a discorderly conduct conviction on record and carrying the disposition papers ashowing the same. Also what about naturalization .. right now only my labour is being preceessed

Any input is appreciated and thanks in advance

I am not an immigration lawyer but from what I do know I think you got very lucky. The issue of entry into the US can be affected by "crimes of moral turpitude" which in plain language is whether your crime is of a kind that one would think your mindset could present a problem to society. My understanding is that while a disorderly conduct could be listed, it is not a moral turpitude crime and should not present a serious problem. Someone sent to me this list of what constitutes a crime of moral turpitude and I thought it was quite good -- although my disclaimer is I was not given the source! It seemed to be derived from law and case law:

The following offenses are crimes involving moral turpitude:

• Fraud or false pretenses in obtaining something of value
• Larceny or a misdemeanor theft by taking
• Larceny after trust
• Murder
• Soliciting for prostitutes
• Voluntary manslaughter
• Sale of narcotics or other illegal drugs
• Pattern of failure to file federal tax returns in years in which taxes are due
• Criminal Issuance of a bad check
• Making a false report of a crime​

The following are offenses which are NOT crimes involving moral turpitude:

• Public drunkenness
• Driving under the influence
• Carrying a concealed weapon
• Unlawful sale of liquor
• Fighting
• Simple Battery
• Simple Assault
• Misdemeanor criminal trespass
• Child abandonment
• Misdemeanor offense of escape
• Misdemeanor offense of obstructing a law enforcement officer
• The federal misdemeanor offense of Conspiracy in Restraint of Interstate Trade and Commerce
• Possession of less than one ounce of marijuana​

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Crimes of Moral Turpitude

Here is another good one regarding crimes of moral turpitude and issues you may have with the INS... from the U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual

U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 9 - Visas

9 FAM 40.21(A) NOTES (CT:VISA-753; 06-29-2005) (Office of Origin: CA/VO/L/R) 9 FAM 40.21(A) N1 APPLYING INA 212 INA 212(A)(2)(A)(I)(I) 9 FAM 40.21(a) N1.1 Determining Ineligibility (CT:VISA-753; 06-29-2005) When adjudicating a visa application for an applicant whom the consular officer has reason to believe has committed a crime, the officer shall determine whether: (1) The offense was purely political (see 9 FAM 40.21(a) N10) (2) The offense committed involves moral turpitude (See 9 FAM 40.21(a) N2); (3) The applicant has been convicted (see 9 FAM 40.21(a) N3); and (4) The applicant has admitted or may admit that he or she has committed acts which constitute the essential elements of a crime (see 9 FAM 40.21(a) N5.)

9 FAM 40.21(a) N1.2 Exceptions to Ineligibility (CT:VISA-753; 06-29-2005) Certain statutory exceptions may prevent a determination of ineligibility by reason of a conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude. These exceptions relate to: (1) Crimes committed prior to age 18 (see 9 FAM 40.21(a) N8 and N9) or (2) Certain purely political offenses and convictions.

9 FAM 40.21(A) N2 MORAL TURPITUDE 9 FAM 40.21(a) N2.1 Evaluating Moral Turpitude Based Upon Statutory Definition of Offense and U.S. Standards (CT:VISA-753; 06-29-2005) To render an alien ineligible under INA 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I), the conviction must be for a statutory offense, which involves moral turpitude. The presence of moral turpitude is determined by the nature of the statutory offense for which the alien was convicted, and not by the acts underlying the conviction. Therefore, evidence relating to the underlying act, including the testimony of the applicant, is not relevant to a determination of whether the conviction involved moral turpitude except when the statute is divisible (see 9 FAM 40.21(a) N5.2) or a political offense (see 9 FAM 40.21(a) N10). The presence of moral turpitude in a statutory offense is determined according to United States law.

9 FAM 40.21(a) N2.2 Defining "Moral Turpitude" (CT:VISA-753; 06-29-2005) Statutory definitions of crimes in the United States consist of various elements, which must be met before a conviction can be supported. Some of these elements have been determined in judicial or administrative decisions to involve moral turpitude. A conviction for a statutory offense will involve moral turpitude if one or more of the elements of that offense have been determined to involve moral turpitude. The most common elements involving moral turpitude are: (1) Fraud; (2) Larceny; and (3) Intent to harm persons or thing.

9 FAM 40.21(a) N2.3 Common Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude (TL:VISA-29; 01-12-1990)Categorized below are some of the more common crimes, which are considered to involve moral turpitude. Each category is followed by a separate list of related crimes, which are held not to involve moral turpitude

9 FAM 40.21(a) N2.3-1 Crimes Committed Against Property (CT:VISA-753; 06-29-2005)

a. Most crimes committed against property that involve moral turpitude include the necessary element of fraud. The act of fraud involves moral turpitude whether it is aimed against individuals or government. Fraud generally involves: (1) Making false representation; (2) Knowledge of such false representation by the perpetrator; (3) Reliance on the false representation by the person defrauded; (4) An intent to defraud; and (5) The actual act of committing fraud.

b. Other crimes committed against property involving moral turpitude involve an inherently evil intent, such as the act of arson. The following list comprises crimes frequently committed against property, which may be held to involve moral turpitude for the purposes of visa issuance: (1) Arson; (2) Blackmail; (3) Burglary; (4) Embezzlement; (5) Extortion; (6) False pretenses; (7) Forgery; (8) Fraud; (9) Larceny (grand or petty); (10) Malicious destruction of property; (11) Receiving stolen goods (with guilty knowledge); (12) Robbery; (13) Theft (when it involves the intention of permanent taking); and (14) Transporting stolen property (with guilty knowledge).

c. Crimes against property which do not fall within the definition of moral turpitude include: (1) Damaging private property (where intent to damage not required); (2) Breaking and entering (requiring no specific or implicit intent to commit a crime involving moral turpitude); (3) Passing bad checks (where intent to defraud not required); (4) Possessing stolen property (if guilty knowledge is not essential); (5) Joy riding (where the intention to take permanently not required); and (6) Juvenile delinquency

9 FAM 40.21(a) N2.3-2 Crimes Committed Against Governmental Authority (CT:VISA-753; 06-29-2005)

a. Crimes committed against governmental authority which fall within the definition of moral turpitude include: (1) Bribery; (2) Counterfeiting; (3) Fraud against revenue or other government functions; (4) Mail fraud; (5) Perjury; (6) Harboring a fugitive from justice (with guilty knowledge); and (7) Tax evasion (willful).

b. Crimes committed against governmental authority, which would not constitute moral turpitude for visa-issuance purposes, are, in general, violation of laws which are regulatory in character and which do not involve the element of fraud or other evil intent do not involve moral turpitude. The following list assumes that the statutes involved do not require the showing of an intent to defraud, or commit other evil: (1) Black market violations; (2) Breach of the peace; (3) Carrying a concealed weapon; (4) Desertion from the Armed Forces; (5) Disorderly conduct; (6) Drunk or reckless driving; (7) Drunkenness; (8) Escape from prison; (9) Failure to report for military induction; (10) False statements (not amounting to perjury or involving fraud); (11) Firearms violations; (12) Gambling violations; (13) Immigration violations; (14) Liquor violations; (15) Loan sharking; (16) Lottery violations; (17) Possessing burglar tools (without intent to commit burglary); (18) Smuggling and customs violations (where intent to commit fraud is absent); (19) Tax evasion (without intent to defraud); and (20) Vagrancy

9 FAM 40.21(a) N2.3-3 Crimes Committed Against Person, Family Relationship, and Sexual Morality (TL:VISA-384; 04-03-2002)

a. Crimes committed against the person, family relationship, and sexual morality, which constitute moral turpitude as it relates to visa issuance, include: (1) Abandonment of a minor child (if willful and resulting in the destitution of the child); (2) Adultery (see INA 101(f)(2) repealed by Public Law 97-116); (3) Assault (this crime is broken down into several categories, which involve moral turpitude): (a) Assault with intent to kill; (b) Assault with intent to commit rape; (c) Assault with intent to commit robbery; (d) Assault with intent to commit serious bodily harm; and (e) Assault with a dangerous or deadly weapon (some weapons may be found to be lethal as a matter of law, while others may or may not be found factually to be such, depending upon all the circumstances in the case. Such circumstances may include, but are not limited to, the size of the weapon, the manner of its use, and the nature and extent of injuries inflicted.); (4) Bigamy; (5) Contributing to the delinquency of a minor; (6) Gross indecency; (7) Incest (if the result of an improper sexual relationship); (8) Kidnapping; (9) Lewdness; (10) Manslaughter: (a) Voluntary; and (b) Involuntary, where the statute requires proof of recklessness, which is defined as the awareness and conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustified risk which constitutes a gross deviation from the standard that a reasonable person would observe in the situation. A conviction for the statutory offense of vehicular homicide or other involuntary manslaughter only requires a showing of negligence will not involve moral turpitude even if it appears the defendant in fact acted recklessly. (11) Mayhem; (12) Murder; (13) Pandering; (14) Prostitution; (15) Rape (By statute, a person may be convicted of statutory rape even though the female consents and provided she is under the statutory age at the time of the commission of the act. "Statutory rape" is also deemed to involve moral turpitude.); and (16) Sodomy

b. Crimes committed against the person, family relationship, or sexual morality which do not involve moral turpitude include: (1) Assault (simple) (i.e., any assault, which does not require an evil intent or depraved motive, although it may involve the use of a weapon, which is neither dangerous nor deadly); (2) Bastardy (i.e., the offense of begetting a bastard child); (3) Creating or maintaining a nuisance (where knowledge that premises were used for prostitution is not necessary); (4) Fornication; (5) Incest (when a result of a marital status prohibited by law); (6) Involuntary manslaughter (when killing is not the result of recklessness); (7) Libel; (8) Mailing an obscene letter;U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 9 - Visas
(9) Mann Act violations (where coercion is not present); (10) Riot; and (11) Suicide (attempted)

9 FAM 40.21(a) N2.4 Attempts, Aiding and Abetting, Accessories and Conspiracy (CT:VISA-753; 06-29-2005)
a. The following types of crimes are held to be crimes involving moral turpitude: (1) An attempt to commit a crime deemed to involve moral turpitude; (2) Aiding and abetting in the commission of a crime deemed to involve moral turpitude; (3) Being an accessory (before or after the fact) in the commission of a crime deemed to involve moral turpitude; and (4) Taking part in a conspiracy (or attempting to take part in a conspiracy) to commit a crime involving moral turpitude

b. Conversely, where an alien has been convicted of, or admits having committed the essential elements of, a criminal attempt, or a criminal act of aiding and abetting, accessory before or after the fact, or conspiracy, and the underlying crime is not deemed to involve moral turpitude, then INA 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) would not be applicable.