Lewis v. State

Bowles, Justice.

We granted certiorari in this case to consider Division 1 of the opinion of the Court of Appeals, 148 Ga. App. 16 (251 SE2d 18) (1978), holding that a conviction of the sale of cocaine is a crime involving moral turpitude so that evidence of such prior conviction could be introduced as impeaching evidence of a witness.

Although the term moral turpitude has been used in many statutes adopted by the legislature of this state and has been referred to in numerous decisions of this court and the Court of Appeals, a definition has not been adopted as to its precise meaning. The term…