Leon Walker, 34, is charged with a five-year felony after accessing now-ex-wife Clara Walker's Gmail account to see whether she was having an affair. Michigan's law prohibits accessing a computer system without consent.
Walker and his attorneys, Leon Weiss and Matthew Klakulak, said the law was never intended for domestic matters, but was designed to prevent identity theft and the theft of trade secrets.
But judge Pat Donofrio said Walker's actions appear to fall squarely under the law the way it was written.
"Your client is being charged with securing intellectual property -- her e-mail, accessing her intellectual property," he said.
Klakulak also argued legislators never intended the law to be used for snooping spouses and that if it's used as such, it could criminalize activities such as parents monitoring their children's online activities.
I'm going to stop there and call bullshit. First of all, it's illegal to access someone's postal mail without permission. This is an extension of that expectation of privacy. Second, an adult being punished for accessing private correspondence without permission in no way covers a parent's obligation and responsibility to check correspondence for a minor child. The man accused is described as a "computer technician" and had an advantage over his wife.
Cheating on your spouse is wrong, but it's not our business. Private correspondence and the right to expect privacy is a bigger deal and affects all Americans. Dismissing this as silly is wrong. I agree with the judge, this falls under the description of the law and appears to also follow the intent of the law, which was to protect our electronic privacy.
What do you guys think? Would you find this man guilty or not, based on the law and based on your own moral compass?
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