Man Reads Wife's Email, Discovers Affair, Charged With Felony Computer Misuse

Yikes. I think this one is going to depend on whether he gets his peers or her peers on the jury.
 
Actually, she might have a valid case. What makes that so is that the E-mail account he read was a web-based Gmail account, and perhaps not a jointly shared E-mail account. The content of the E-mails are held on a server "somewhere" and not generally stored on the home computer, even if the computer itself is jointly owned and shared.

Other relevant issues not addressed in the article are:

1. What was their marital status at the time he read the E-mails? Were they still married? Separated? If separated, was there a separation agreement that addressed the joint use of the computer?

2. Did she previously give him permission to use that Gmail account and just arbitrarily decide that he no longer had her permission to use it and not tell him when that access became inconvenient/embarrassing? In other words, what was their past practice regarding that Gmail account and if there was a change was he notified of that change? Did she take any concrete steps to assure privacy such as changing the login password?

Using W2R's analogy of reading paper letters, if those letters were stored in a jointly owned home that he otherwise had legitimate full access to and he found them then of course she doesn't have a case. However, if she had moved out and established her own domicile that he did not have keys to, and he broke in and found the letters there, then she'd have a good case for a burglary.
 
He should have installed spyware on the computer than there would have been no need to use her password .
 
According to the article she gave him her password. If she didn't want him to read her email, change the password.
 
This is kind of like when the parents after reading their kid's diary questions "why are you playing hooky and drinking beer. You are under aged." and the kid says "who gave you the right to look in my diary?"
 
I can see the consent forms now...

Wife: DH, when are you going to clean up the computer. It's full of spyware and such

Hubby: DW, first things first, sign here to not hold me responsilbe for stumbling on your emails
 
In Spain, you can´t lawfully sack an employee for spending a lot employer´s time playing on the Internet, if said employer gained got tipped off about this situation by accessing his PC (owned by the company) via a commonly used password not privately used by the employer.:confused::confused:
 
I don't think she's a ready candidate for Mensa leaving her password around...:rolleyes: She must have wanted him to find out I would think.
 
"Here's my password, [-]my lawyer is watching[/-] dear"
Sounds like a set-up to me.
YMMV
 
Arnie said:
Yikes. I think this one is going to depend on whether he gets his peers or her peers on the jury.
Click to expand...

Being he is a male; he is guilty until proven innocent.
 
Of course he is in the wrong.... he caught her. You can't blame his wife, all she was doing was cheating!
 
I refuse to believe the justice system would press felony charges if the genders were reversed. In that case, the reaction would be: "he's a cheating scumbag who got what he deserved, good for her for exposing his cheating."
 
They have charged him with unauthorized access to a computer in order to “acquire, alter, damage, delete or destroy property.”

He did none of those things. The only "property" involved was his wife's, um, you know.
 
TromboneAl said:
They have charged him with unauthorized access to a computer in order to “acquire, alter, damage, delete or destroy property.”

He did none of those things. The only "property" involved was his wife's, um, you know.
Click to expand...

Is there a statute that covers: "Willful destruction of property"?? :cool::whistle:
 
Hmmm...the article was written by John Springer...Jerry's bro by chance? :angel:
 
Walt34 said:
Actually, she might have a valid case. What makes that so is that the E-mail account he read was a web-based Gmail account, and perhaps not a jointly shared E-mail account. The content of the E-mails are held on a server "somewhere" and not generally stored on the home computer, even if the computer itself is jointly owned and shared.
Click to expand...

I also think this is key. He may have used a solely or jointly owned PC to access GMail, but the account he accessed was on a remote computer, and for that account he does not have any rights to it without the owner's permission. Even with the password he would have to prove that his wife gave her permission for him to access her account.
 
I will say that if convicted he would not be in jail long. His (ex)wife needs him working hard to pay for alimony, plus the damages from the civil law suit that she will file against him for reading the e-mails.
 
I am not an IT expert but the Google desktop application seems to record and index everything - even emails. No need for passwords.
 
I've been following this case in the news.
My guess, and I am definitely not a legal expert, is this will be treated the same way as snail (hardcopy) mail. I have always been told that email is protected the same way as a letter sent in the mail is.
The big difference is method of access and spousal rights or lack thereof in this domain.
A roadside mailbox is protected from unauthorized retrieval of letters by persons not residing at the address, so electronic mail may be ruled to be of the same order under privacy laws.

We shall see what we shall see...:cool:
 
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