When two people are joined in marriage, Texas law recognizes that certain things the couple shares with each other in confidence should be protected as private. For example, spouses generally cannot be compelled to testify against each other in court. But just because the law recognizes a privacy boundary between the couple and the outside world does not mean that within the marriage everything must be shared. Indeed, each spouse still has his or her own right to keep things private from the other.
That sort of marital privacy is being tested now in a criminal court case in Michigan. The case involves a man, Leon Walker, who viewed his wife's emails without her permission when he suspected she was having an affair (which proved to be true). Walker has been charged with "felony computer misuse" under a law that was originally designed to prevent hacking and corporate espionage.
Walker contends that he had a right to access his wife's email (they have since divorced), in part because he purchased his wife's laptop, it was in his home, and he says she kept a list of her passwords nearby. But Michigan prosecutors say Walker, a computer technician by trade, illegally hacked into his wife's email account-just the sort of privacy violation the Michigan statute was designed to prevent.
In the wake of the case, one Michigan legislator has introduced a bill to amend the state's computer crimes law to decriminalize accessing a spouse's computer or email. But in the meantime, the trial is set to go forward.
Texas Computer Privacy Law
Texas has a computer crimes law similar to Michigan's, and generally speaking if a spouse maintains a separate email account with a private password, he or she has an expectation of privacy-even from a spouse. However, the Walker case has generated international attention, and states may reconsider whether online privacy is still privileged between spouses.
Increasingly, email, text messages, and information from social networking sites are becoming common sources of evidence in family law cases. In fact, one study out of Britain claims that 20 percent of all divorce filings contain the word "Facebook."
If you are involved in a divorce or separation (or contemplating it), you should take steps to protect your electronic privacy and guard your passwords carefully. If you believe there may have been a breach in your online privacy, let your divorce attorney know.
