Moral Turpitude

Legal concept in the United States that refers to conduct that is considered contrary to community standards of justice, honesty or good morals. The concept of moral turpitude escapes precise definition but has been described as an "act of baseness, vileness or depravity in the private and social duties which a man owes to his fellowmen, or to society in general, contrary to the accepted and customary rule of right and duty between man and man."