Prosecutors in Oakland County, Mich., have charged Walker with a felony after he hacked into his wife’s email account using a laptop. Walker claims that the computer was shared with his wife, Clara Walker. She, however, argues that the laptop belonged to her, and her husband did not have permission to access her email account and read the emails.
The prosecutors are relying on a Michigan law used to prosecute crimes such as identity theft or stealing trade secrets, which reads: "A person shall not intentionally and without authorization or by exceeding valid authorization do any of the following: Access or cause access to be made to a computer program, computer, computer system or computer network to acquire, alter, damage delete or destroy property or otherwise use the service of a computer program, computer, computer system or computer network."
Legal experts consulted by the Detroit Free Press said this was the first time the law had been used in a domestic case.
"It's going to be interesting because there are no clear legal answers here," Frederick Lane, an electronic privacy attorney, told the newspaper. "I would guess there is enough gray area to suggest that she could not have an absolute expectation of privacy", he said.
According to the newspaper, the wife’s emails showed that she was having an affair with her previous (second) husband, a man who had been arrested for beating her in front of her small son. Leon Walker, worried that the child might be exposed to that type of violence again, sent the emails to the wife’s first husband and the child’s father, who filed an emergency motion to obtain custody.
Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper told the newspaper that Walker is a “hacker” who gained illegal access to his wife’s email account. "It was password protected, he had wonderful skills, and was highly trained. Then he downloaded [the emails] and used them in a very contentious way."
Walker’s defense attorney disagreed. "This is a hacking statute, the kind of statute they use if you try to break into a government system or private business for some nefarious purpose. It's to protect against identity fraud, to keep somebody from taking somebody's intellectual property or trade secrets. I have to ask: 'Don't the prosecutors have more important things to do with their time?'", he told the newspaper.