
Man arrested for reading wife's email - MichaelApproved
http://news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20101227/tc_digitaltrends/maninlegaltroubleforreadingwifesemail;_ylt=Athwb8E_c9wj7cBUxUrPPyes0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTRrMWxrdTE3BGFzc2V0A2RpZ2l0YWx0cmVuZHMvMjAxMDEyMjcvbWFuaW5sZWdhbHRyb3VibGVmb3JyZWFkaW5nd2lmZXNlbWFpbARjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzgEcG9zAzUEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl9oZWFkbGluZV9saXN0BHNsawNtYW5pbmxlZ2FsdHI-
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sorbus
> “The guy is a hacker. It was password protected, he had wonderful skills and
> was highly trained.”

> ... after finding her password written in a book next to their shared
> laptop.

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tptacek
The parties in this case were in divorce proceedings; they were, apparently,
legally separated. There's a huge difference between being married and being
legally separated; for instance, in a community property state (Michigan isn't
one), property acquired after separation isn't community property.

What seems to have happened in this case is no different from what would
happen if my babysitter borrowed our computer to access her email, and I
snatched her password. Use of a shared computer to access your email _does
not_ surrender the account to everyone else who uses the computer.

It looks like the guy straight-up broke the law. Good for Michigan for
actually enforcing it.

~~~
algolicious
Where did you read that? The linked story states that they were married at the
time and that she filed for divorce in response to his snooping.

~~~
jdp23
It's in the WSJ at [http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/12/27/can-email-snooping-a-
cri...](http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/12/27/can-email-snooping-a-crime/)

'In a voice message left with the Law Blog, [Michigan prosecutor Jessica]
Cooper added that two judges have denied Walker’s motion to dismiss the
charges. Walker and his wife “were in divorce proceedings and had separate
email accounts, separate computers, separate everything,” Cooper said.'

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anigbrowl
Existing discussion: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2042615>

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MichaelApproved
_"Many legal professionals are shocked by the lawsuit, but a jury will
ultimately decide whether or not Leon Walker does time."_

I don't see why this case is so outrageous or why they have to use a law that
puts this in a gray area. The guy clearly stole his wife's password and broke
into her account. This would be clear cut if it were a stranger who did it.

Even if he believed the son to be in danger, there are ways of address the
situation without compromising her email account.

~~~
cperciva
_This would be clear cut if it were a stranger who did it._

But he's _not_ a stranger. Married couples do all sorts of things which would
be criminal if they were strangers.

It seems to me that the key point here will be his state of mind when he found
the password and logged in to his wife's account -- did he believe that his
wife would object? (Obviously in hindsight we know that she did object, but
you can't hang a man based on hindsight.)

(Analogous situation: Man fondles woman's breast. If they're strangers, it's
sexual assault. In a happily married couple, it's perfectly normal. If the
wife is thinking of getting a divorce she might tell him to stop fondling her.
But no court is ever going to demand that husbands receive written permission
from their wives prior to each instance of breast-fondling, because there's a
general recognition that people in relationships can make judgement calls
about the boundaries of those relationships.)

~~~
tptacek
He _is_ a stranger. They're in divorce proceedings. World of difference.

