Longstanding Georgia law treats all felonies as “involving moral turpitude.”  See Lewis v. State, 243 Ga. 443 (1979); 1986 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 86-15; 1983 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 83-33.

Suspended Sentence - Suspended sentences are sentences that are given formally, but not actually served.  Therefore, if the felony sentence has been suspended, but is still pending, the sentence has not been “completed.”  Usually, a sentence is entered, then suspended upon some condition such as not committing another felony.  If the individual then goes out and commits another felony during the term of the suspended sentence, the judge can impose the original sentence for the remainder of its term.  Therefore, this does qualify as a felony conviction.

However, the following are NOT convictions of felonies involving moral turpitude:

First Offender Status – O.C.G.A. § 42-8-60(a) provides, “Upon a verdict or plea of guilty or a plea of nolo contendere, but before an adjudication of guilt, in the case of a defendant who has not been previously convicted of a felony, the court may, without entering a judgment of guilt and with the consent of the defendant: (1) Defer further proceeding and place the defendant on probation as provided by law; or (2) Sentence the defendant to a term of confinement as provided by law.”  Therefore, there would be no “conviction.”

Misdemeanor Conviction - a misdemeanor is, by definition, not a felony.

Plea of Nolo Contendere -  O.C.G.A. § 17-7-95(c) provides, “Except as otherwise provided by law, a plea of nolo contendere shall not be used against the defendant in any other court or proceedings as an admission of guilt or otherwise or for any purpose; and the plea shall not be deemed a plea of guilty for the purpose of effecting any civil disqualification of the defendant to hold public office, to vote, to serve upon any jury, or any other civil disqualification imposed upon a person convicted of any offense under the laws of this state.”

Dead Docket - O.C.G.A. § 15-6-61(a)(4)(B) provides, "It is the duty of the clerk of superior court . . . [t]o keep in the clerk's office the following docket or books: [a] criminal docket . . . .  The criminal docket shall contain  . . . entries of cases which are ordered dead docketed at the discretion of the presiding judge and which shall be called only at the judge's pleasure.  This is a procedural device by which prosecution of a case is postponed indefinitely but may be reinstated at any time at the pleasure of the court.  Placing a case upon the dead docket means the case is still pending and can be called for trial at the judge's pleasure.  Because the case is still pending, there would be no “conviction.”

Nolle Prosequi - This is a formal entry upon the record by the prosecuting attorney, by which he declares that he will “no further prosecute the case.”  It is the voluntary withdrawal, signed by the judge, by the prosecuting attorney of present proceedings on a criminal charge.  Therefore, there would be no “conviction.”

Adjudication of Delinquency - O.C.G.A. § 15-11-72 provides, “An order of disposition or other adjudication in a proceeding under [the Juvenile Code] is not a conviction of a crime and does not impose any civil disability ordinarily resulting from a conviction.”  The juvenile court is a civil court, not a criminal court, and an adjudication of delinquency is not a conviction of a crime.  The juvenile court cannot find anyone guilty of a crime.  T.L.T. v. State, 133 Ga. App. 895 (1975).  However, a juvenile can be tried as an adult; and, a conviction of guilt of a juvenile for a felony in superior court is a felony conviction. O.C.G.A. § 15-11-28; Pascarella v. State, 294 Ga. App. 414 (2008); Carrindine v. Ricketts, 236 Ga. 283, 223 S.E.2d 627 (1976). Therefore, if the sentence is imposed by a juvenile court, that is not a felony conviction.  However, a juvenile can be convicted in superior court of a felony involving moral turpitude “as an adult.”