Technology Transforms Evidence in Divorce Cases
The Family Law Professor Blog posted a timely story regarding the changing face of evidence in the world of matrimonial litigation. While many people engage in such "surveillance," remember that many of these tactics may violate federal wiretapping law and state statute.
"The age-old business of breaking up has taken a decidedly Orwellian turn, with digital evidence like e-mail messages, traces of Web site visits and mobile telephone records now permeating many contentious divorce cases.
Spurned lovers steal each other’s BlackBerrys. Suspicious spouses hack into each other’s e-mail accounts. They load surveillance software onto the family PC, sometimes discovering shocking infidelities.
Divorce lawyers routinely set out to find every bit of private data about their clients’ adversaries, often hiring investigators with sophisticated digital forensic tools to snoop into household computers.
“In just about every case now, to some extent, there is some electronic evidence,” said Gaetano Ferro, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, who also runs seminars on gathering electronic evidence. “It has completely changed our field.”"
By Brad Stone, N.Y. Times Link to Article (last visited 9-19-07 NVS)
