HELP, please!

[IncorrectPolitics 26]

I guess I am going to jail because I admit I keylog our computer and regularly login to my husbands email accounts and messengers without his knowledge.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

The example cases involved people who were not married, and the invasion of privacy was far from the only enforcable crime involved as hacking is also a crime and was involved in the examples I have seen. I think that it's unlikely that the OP is at risk of legal trouble for having read those emails, but should probably have her divorce attorney look into that before using them as a basis for divorce. Privacy laws (and laws in general) tend to vary by state though and privacy laws are a hot ticket item the last decade so you probably don't know what you'd find until you start digging through case law about it.

I don't know of any states where it's legal to read your spouses email without their permission, but the article Bobby pointed out cites several federal laws that cover it - Electronic Communications Privacy Act, Stored Communications Act, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. An important exception is if the emails have already been downloaded and stored on a personal computer that both parties have access to. If the emails are stored on a remote host then accessing them without authorization is a violation of federal law.

The article I read was simply the first one that came up in a Google search, and the point of the article was not so much about the Cioni case (it was used as an introduction to the topic), but about the proliferation of private companies that specialize in hacking into email accounts for people. The crux of the article was that the hacking was illegal, but the companies were pretty much untouchable because they were mostly located outside America. The Cioni case is interesting because Cioni wasn't charged with hacking - she hired someone else to do that for her. She was charged and convicted of illegally accessing a computer system.

Anyway, I highlighted that sentence in your post because it was essentially the point I was trying to make. Since a divorce is a civil case, the judge isn't likely to disregard evidence if he believes it was obtained illegally, but it would suck to have her problems compounded by criminal charges for illegally accessing his email account. If her husband's divorce lawyer is savvy at all, he'll use the illegal access of his email accounts as leverage in settlement. In other words, agree to this settlement offer or we'll turn this evidence over to the criminal authorities.

I guess I am going to jail because I admit I keylog our computer and regularly login to my husbands email accounts and messengers without his knowledge.

Installing a keylogger may or may not be ok. It isn't a violation of federal law yet, but it may be a violation of the wiretapping law in some states. Accessing his email accounts is a violation of federal law. The only exceptions, as I mentioned above, are if you have his permission to access the accounts, or the emails have already been downloaded into a computer you both have access to.

[Fandango 1,440]

The husband obviously did not show that there was a 'reasonable expectation of privacy' if he stored the password and account information on a file in a jointly shared computer. And furthermore, she may not need to show any evidence to a divorce atty because some states are 'no fault' divorces anyways, also, I think a lawyer would warn her if she were using ill gotten information.

At the end of the day, it's a bunch of hogwash...I think it's fine to beat this to death somewhere else, but to derail this thread with more back and forth seems rude to the OP. IMO, of course.

[rlogan 2,036]

I have no idea what I am supposed to do in terms of paperwork. If any of you have gone through a similar situation, please advise.

You have permanent residency and the marriage was entered in good faith on your part, so the ten year green card is not a problem for you, should you decide to apply on your own. Divorce won't matter.

Your state laws dictate Divorce/dissolution procedures and requirements, and most of them are on line. Many have no-fault divorce or dissolution. Just knowing the information is going to make you feel better. A lot of the misery is the uncertainty.

Really sorry to hear about your trouble. The foundation your life depended on just turned to sand. It is so hard to be alone at a time like this. Whatever external support you can get, try for it. Webchat with family or whatever. Someone suggested some books. Byh all means, yes - you are hardly the first to go through this.

Probably worth trying some kind of mediated counseling as opposed to just trying to work it out with him.

Take care of yourself with eating regularly, exercise, and sleep. Write down small goals on paper and try to work them. That structure will add some direction, stability, and strength to your life.

Very best of luck to you.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I guess I am going to jail because I admit I keylog our computer and regularly login to my husbands email accounts and messengers without his knowledge.

but even if it wasn't illegal, I feel bad for your husband as you obviously don't trust him at all. I have ALL my husbands passwords and he mine. I can (and have his permission to) check his emails, WoW, and FB accounts if i want to and so can he. I don't "check" them but I might log on to find an email we were both waiting for, or send myself stuff on farmville... but honestly, in myself I know I couldn't handle the slippery slope checking them repeatedly and without his knowledge would have on my trust of him, or his trust in me... it's a bit sad you don't trust him really...