Associated Press -- A Michigan man who says he learned of his wife's affair by reading her e-mail on their computer faces trial Feb. 7 on felony computer misuse charges.
Thirty-three-year-old Leon Walker used his wife's password to get into her Gmail account. Clara Walker filed for a divorce, which was granted this month.
Leon Walker tells The Oakland Press of Pontiac he was trying to protect the couple's children from neglect and calls the case a "miscarriage of justice."
Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Sydney Turner says the charge is justified.
Privacy law writer Frederick Lane tells the Detroit Free Press the law typically is used to prosecute identity theft and stealing trade secrets. He says he questions if a wife can expect privacy on a computer she shares with her husband.
Matthew Fortner has been at The News & Observer since 2002. He has a passion for gadgets, cutting-edge technology and all things geek.
Comments
email privacy violation by spouse
Thu, 12/30/2010 - 06:02 — annerussellI would consider it a violation of my right to password-protected email privacy and thus an invasion of my right to free speech, if my spouse dared to snoop in this manner. He has no right, without my permission, to open mail addressed to me, nor listen in on my phone calls, nor read my private communications to other people. Marriage does not confer the right to supervise your partner's existence; if it did, I would never marry.
I don't disagree, but ...
Mon, 01/03/2011 - 10:16 — matthewfortner (author)... it is an interesting cautionary tale. Wonder what came first? The behavior that compelled him to crack her email or her affair?