What is the status of the law with regard to the interception of a spouse’s e-mails and computer records?
With the current prevalence of internet sex and resulting divorce litigation, wiretapping violations are at the forefront in many divorce cases. A spouse who tries to prove adultery by retrieving messages from hard drives, internet services, recycle bins, or other areas of storage could clearly be in violation of both New Jersey and federal wiretapping laws. In summary, the information that was obtained to verify the adulterous relations may be invaluable on a personal level. However, any evidence that is obtained by illegal wiretapping or by illegal hacking into a spouse’s computer should not be used as leverage in a divorce case. An experienced divorce lawyer can actually use the act of illegal wiretapping as grounds to file a civil suit against the violating spouse. The civil suit is filed as part of the divorce case and is called a Tevis claim. The cheating spouse can actually use the wiretapping violation as a bargaining chip to obtain a more favorable divorce settlement.
