Article
Unnecessary Ambiguity: Relinquishing “Moral Turpitude” from Lawyer Discipline
Journal of the Legal Profession
(2017)
Abstract
“Moral turpitude,” used in legal contexts including criminal law, immigration law, and attorney discipline, is a term that is ambiguous at best and arbitrary at worst. In lawyer regulation, the American Bar Association's (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Conduct (“Model Rules”) guide jurisdictions in implementing their own ethics rules governing the (mostly) professional conduct of lawyers. For more than 100 years, the term “moral turpitude” has been a part of the governing rules. Upon the adoption of the Model Rules, “moral turpitude” was removed from the black-letter rule, but remains in the comments of Rule 8.4 Misconduct.
Keywords
- moral turpitude,
- misconduct,
- rule 8.4,
- Model Rules of Professional Conduct
Disciplines
Publication Date
Spring 2017
Citation Information
Kellyn O McGee. "Unnecessary Ambiguity: Relinquishing “Moral Turpitude” from Lawyer Discipline" Journal of the Legal Profession Vol. 41 (2017) p. 301 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/kellyn-mcgee/2/