The Fourth Circuit has determined that a Virginia conviction petit larceny qualifies as a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). “Chavez latches onto the ‘reasonable basis’ language to argue that Virginia will convict a defendant who honestly but unreasonably believed the taken property was abandoned.” The court concluded that “none of the cases Chavez cites change that larceny requires an intent to permanently deprive and that this criminal intent may be negated by a good faith claim of right.”
The court also addressed the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright on the definition of a CIMT. “Loper Bright doesn’t wipe away the results of our prior decisions deferring to the Board’s reasonable interpretations of what constitutes a crime involving moral turpitude. But it does mean that any Board guidance serves only as persuasive authority.” With that in mind, the Court determined that “the Board’s interpretation in Diaz Lizarraga on the moral turpitude of theft ‘is entitled to respect.’”
The full text of Chavez v. Bondi can be found here: