Family Law Blog on Lawyers.com

This article will serve as the first in a series pertaining to the interplay between the individual’s right to privacy and institution of marriage. In the landmark decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court of the United States of America stuck down a Connecticut state law prohibiting the use of contraceptives, explicitly ruling that Americans are afforded a right to privacy within their marriage. The concept of the right of privacy has since expanded to include the right of unmarried individuals to use contraceptives [Eisenstadt v. Baird, 1972], the right of women to seek an abortion [Roe v. Wade, 1973], and most recently the right to engage in consensual homosexual sex [Lawrence v. Texas, 2003].

Often the family law practice finds itself balancing the notion that an individual has an unbreakable right to privacy with the fact they that have joined a union. This creates an odd paradox. Does the institution of marriage automatically trump one’s right privacy? If yes, does this mean that there are no aspects of personal secrecy that should be protected in marriage. Further, if there is no aspect of privacy within marriage, the floodgates are essentially opened to the types of materials one can gather on their spouse. For example, does one have the right to read the diary of their spouse, put a GPS device on their spouse’s vehicle tracking their movements, post pornographic images of their spouse [taken with the consent of their spouse] on the internet, hack into their spouse’s computer or email accounts?

Unfortunately, Georgia law has not addressed many of these issues and when it does there are often huge holes within the statute that can be exploited in the domestic relations context. A great example is Georgia Code §16-9-93, which defines the crime of computer invasion of privacy stating, "any person who uses a computer or computer network with the intention of examining any employment, medical, salary, credit, or any other financial or personal data relating to any other person with knowledge that such examination is without authority shall be guilty of the crime of computer invasion of privacy." This law, although a great step, does not define "without authority." One could argue that their spouse waived the right to privacy on their computer by not placing a password protection on the system, allowing others to use the computer at their own will, or by simply keeping the computer in a common room of the home.

Georgians will not have clear answers to these questions until they ask a court to address them directly. The Manely Firm has a superior team of trial lawyers that will litigate your right of privacy concerns in a clear concise manner to Superior Courts of Fulton, Dekalb, and Clayton Counties.