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Happy 2011 to everyone. <br>
<br>
--------------------<br>
<br>
Here's an interesting case that could end up setting new
boundaries in the area of privacy. And it confirms that in most
cases marriages do belong to the government<span
class="moz-smiley-s1"><span> :-) </span></span><br>
<br>
best<br>
<br>
<br>
Alice<br>
<br>
<br>
<div>Man Faces Five Years in Prison for Snooping Through Wife's
E-Mails</div>
<div><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/email-snooping-wife-brings-michigan-man-felony-computer/story?id=12488956">http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/email-snooping-wife-brings-michigan-man-felony-computer/story?id=12488956</a><br>
<br>
<div id="storyText" class="storyTextMd">
<div class="story_text">
<p>
Could someone face prison time for snooping through a <a
href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/facebook-infidelity-cheating-spouses-online/story?id=12272421"
target="external">spouse's e-mails?</a> For Leon Walker of
Michigan, the answer was yes.<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>
Suspecting that his wife was involved with another man, and
worried that it was affecting their daughter, Walker logged
into Clara Walker's Gmail account last summer.
</p>
<p>
Walker, 33, said it was easy for him to log in because his
wife kept the password in a book next to the computer.
</p>
<p>
"I definitely felt it was OK to confirm [the affair] by
reading her e-mail in our home," said Walker.
</p>
<p>
While Walker believed it was OK, Oakland County prosecutors
did not and have charged Walker with felony misuse of a
computer. If convicted, he could face up to five years in
prison.
</p>
<p>
This is Michigan's first criminal prosecution for snooping
through a spouse's e-mails. So far, two Michigan judges have
refused to toss out the charges in the potentially
precedent-setting case.
</p>
<p>
"It's outrageous. It's insane," Walker, who is now divorced,
told ABC News.
</p>
<p>
Prosecutors contend that Walker -- who is a computer
technician -- illegally hacked into his wife's computer
after she had filed for divorce, but Walker's lawyer calls
the prosecution's claim an overzealous application of a law
meant to protect trade secrets and credit card data.
</p>
<p>
"People who live under the same roof, be they married or
not, and who share a computer -- as in this instance -- they
may have some personal privacy lines that they adhere to.
And if they don't, that's between the two individuals,"
defense attorney Leon Weiss said.
</p>
<p>
"The word 'e-mail' does not appear in this statute. This is
an anti-hacking statute," Weiss said. "It does not, in any
way, shape or form encompass reading somebody's e-mail."
</p>
<p>
Prosecutors scoff at defense claims that Walker is a victim.
</p>
<p>
"Apparently, they are trying the case in the media, because
they are not doing so well in the courts," Oakland County
prosecutor Jessica Cooper said in a statement.<br>
</p>
<p>
While Walker's case is a first for Michigan, it is not the
first time the privacy between a husband and wife has become
a matter for the courts. Federal privacy laws state that
even with a shared computer, password protected e-mail
accounts are private, unless one of the parties allows
access.
</p>
<p>
"The law is a simple unauthorized access law: It prohibits
unauthorized viewing of someone else's password-protected
files," said Orin Kerr, an Internet legal expert. "The legal
issue here would be whether the wife gave the man permission
to view her account. If she did not, this is a pretty
straightforward."
</p>
<p>
And experts say the same law would apply to other forms of
communication, including a letter addressed to your spouse.
</p>
<p>
"If you give them permission, you can do anything you want
to. But if you don't, it might be a crime," said Perry
Aftab, a privacy lawyer.
</p>
<p>
Walker will face trial Feb. 7 in a case that could set bold
new boundaries in the murky area of privacy between a
husband and a wife. </p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>
<a
href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/facebook-infidelity-cheating-spouses-online/story?id=12272421"
target="external"></a>
</p>
<br>
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