underwater2010 Posted September 19, 2012 Posted September 19, 2012 So it may get harder to bust a WS. An Ohio woman is suing her ex husband after finding video camaras, microphones, GPS and that her computer was being monitored for months prior to their divorce in 2009. Another gentle man that brought a lawsuit along with her is doing so because their online conversations were monitored. Nowhere in the article does it state that she cheated. But that was the first thought that came to mind.
GLDheart Posted September 19, 2012 Posted September 19, 2012 Ignoring potential liability and repurcussions, worst case scenario it puts the Betrayed in a position where you may never be able to reveal your source. That would consequently lead to things also being in-admissable in a court hearing etc.
NotCamelot Posted September 19, 2012 Posted September 19, 2012 My first reaction: When you tell the spouse and subsequently the AP what you know....LIE about how you know it. If it comes to a lawsuit and court, then tell the court you lied about it and suspected something and "made up" a story to confront with. They lied to you, why can't you lie to them?
Janesays Posted September 19, 2012 Posted September 19, 2012 Wouldn't matter if she DID cheat. Ohio is a no fault state.
thomasb Posted September 19, 2012 Posted September 19, 2012 It does matter, even in a no-fault state. It can make a difference in custody and also spousal support. 1
Janesays Posted September 19, 2012 Posted September 19, 2012 It does matter, even in a no-fault state. It can make a difference in custody and also spousal support. Uh, no. I LIVE in Ohio. I WAS cheated on. I've BEEN in divorce court. And the judge didn't even want to HEAR about it, let alone make a legal ruling on it. Literally, it wasn't ALLOWED to be brought up in court. In Ohio, all they do in court is split up the assets and time with the children. Infidelity in Ohio will get you nowhere outside of a, 'wah wah who cares' from the system. 1
Later82012 Posted September 19, 2012 Posted September 19, 2012 Think long and hard before getting married. 2
drifter777 Posted September 19, 2012 Posted September 19, 2012 Let's slow down here. The couple divorced in 2009 and she has now decided to sue him over these things she learned at that time. Why wait 3 years? Go figure. Remember: you can sue anyone for any reason but it doesn't mean you will win. From the article: It’s not clear what laws Joe Zang has broken since he installed the devices in his own home. “What do you do when both people pay the bills? When both people’s names are on the deed? When both people share the same computer, purchased it together? It’s very difficult for a prosecutor then to say, well you have committed a crime against this other person,” said legal analyst Sunny Hostin, a former federal prosecutor.
carhill Posted September 19, 2012 Posted September 19, 2012 OP, is this the case? Couple's case raises questions about privacy, surveillance If so, while it appears the divorce is over, the to and fro lawsuits amongst the gathering of people surveilled drags on in court. So far, it would appear surveillance is fair in love and war if it's in one's own domicile/property. I generally expect no privacy once leaving the 'jar', my own controlled space. That's the world we live in.
Author underwater2010 Posted September 19, 2012 Author Posted September 19, 2012 Yes that is the case. It just struck me as funny because BSs are always being told to gather evidence in such ways. It never would have crossed my mind that he was video taping her for evidence of an affair, until I became a BS. In my old life it would have been "what a control freak". Now I am not saying she had an affair. I am just suggesting the probabilty is at 75%. And if I am understanding things correctly, most divorce courts will throw out the gathered evidence anyway. Being that most states are no fault.
Author underwater2010 Posted September 19, 2012 Author Posted September 19, 2012 And while it is true that he "bugged his own house" and will probably get away with it, how far are we allowed to go? A GPS on a car, hacking cell phones and such. I did not go to such lengths when I found out. I gathered what I could off the computer and confronted him.
carhill Posted September 19, 2012 Posted September 19, 2012 Relevant to 'fault', it's worthwhile to note that most internet sources agree that the following states still offer divorce on 'fault' grounds, with Ohio being amongst them: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. If a party wishes to pursue a fault divorce, and lives in a state which has abolished fault divorce, it's good to look into residency requirements in an advantageous fault state. Fault divorce isn't for the monetarily poor nor faint of heart, but it can redress issues in some cases. As an example, if the woman had discovered the surveillance prior to a lawsuit being filed, or even after one had begun, its possible that she could have brought a fault lawsuit for extreme mental cruelty or similar; equally, the husband could have sued for adultery/infidelity if the evidence supported that. The terms vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Learn something every day. Brave new world
Janesays Posted September 19, 2012 Posted September 19, 2012 Relevant to 'fault', it's worthwhile to note that most internet sources agree that the following states still offer divorce on 'fault' grounds, with Ohio being amongst them: We're both right. From: info.legalzoom.com/constitutes-adultery-ohio-divorce-20647.html Despite Ohio’s requirement that you prove your spouse’s infidelity in order to use it as your divorce ground, this usually adds up to a lot of work for nothing. A judge will not consider your spouse’s transgression when deciding issues of alimony or property division. It’s a neutral factor regarding custody and visitation. An Ohio judge is not likely to order that your spouse can’t see his children if his paramour is present, at least not post-divorce. Because adultery depends on his being married, if your divorce is final, your spouse is free to do whatever he wants. A judge might prohibit such a thing during your separation, however. 1
thomasb Posted September 19, 2012 Posted September 19, 2012 The following states take marital fault into consideration when determining an award of spousal support: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. (Source: American Bar Association, Family Law Quarterly, Winter 1998, Tables Summarizing the Law in Fifty States) The following states take marital misconduct, especially economic fault, into consideration when dividing marital or community property or in reimbursing the marital or community estate: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. (Source: American Bar Association, Family Law Quarterly, Winter 1998, Tables Summarizing the Law in Fifty States).
Spark1111 Posted September 19, 2012 Posted September 19, 2012 I tell students this every day: you have NO right to privacy on the internet. It is not guaranteed by the first ammendment. That being said, marital property is jointly owned, so it would be almost impossible to prove your spouse was spying on you with jointly owned marital property. There was recently a case where a spouse hacked the company-owned laptop of his spouse to discover her workplace affair. The company sued him for invasion of its privacy, worried about stolen trade secrets. However, his spouse had NO right to privacy on the company owned laptop either. I believe the company won its lawsuit against him when they could not prove he stole anything other than his wife's personal emails to her co-worker and lover. Not sure what happened to the two lovers after he divorced her. The company may have still fired them if they used company resources (they did) to conduct their affair.
2sure Posted September 19, 2012 Posted September 19, 2012 When I was divorcing my husband, I had gathered a lot of information about him and the women he was cheating with. I did this via a private detective, a hidden recorder, and finding his email passwords. Infidelity did not come into play during the actual court proceedings because I'm in NY , but I did hire a criminal attorney to cover my ...assets. My ex continually threatened to sue me for violating his privacy. My lawyers laughed and laughed.
Spark1111 Posted September 19, 2012 Posted September 19, 2012 When I was divorcing my husband, I had gathered a lot of information about him and the women he was cheating with. I did this via a private detective, a hidden recorder, and finding his email passwords. Infidelity did not come into play during the actual court proceedings because I'm in NY , but I did hire a criminal attorney to cover my ...assets. My ex continually threatened to sue me for violating his privacy. My lawyers laughed and laughed. Thank you for the validation! What right to privacy due people in a marriage believe they are entitled to have? Define privacy? I believe many confuse privacy within a marriage with SECRECY.
2sure Posted September 20, 2012 Posted September 20, 2012 Thank you for the validation! What right to privacy due people in a marriage believe they are entitled to have? Define privacy? I believe many confuse privacy within a marriage with SECRECY. Seriously, violating his privacy! On the other hand, I probably could have sued him for giving me an STD . He wouldn't have even attempted to sue me even if I had gotten the information via water boarding...that's how much he wanted nothing to come to light in court. That's why when he would threaten it, no matter how mad I was, it would brighten my day.
SidLyon Posted September 20, 2012 Posted September 20, 2012 It's quite a complex legal area. I'm a lawyer, not in the USA, but in a Western common-law country (as is the USA, Canada, NZ and the UK, but not many European countries). There is not necessarily an automatic common law "right to privacy" but many specific pieces of legislation have privacy within them. So if there's no general common law "right to privacy" or that's been modified (by specific court cases) to exclude the home then you have to go to written legislation to see what applies. Various branches of property law (eg who do can what with a car, home or a computer in the home, trespass etc) and telecommunications law (eg it's often illegal to record phone calls) can all come into play. Other branches of the law might apply too. Eg if a couple have a binding contract or pre-nup that says what they have agreed to do or not do. Even so, in many cases it won't be a criminal matter and may merely be taken into account in arriving at property settlements. 1
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