Text messages, emails, photographs, and recordings come into a Georgia divorce under the same rules as any other evidence. How you obtained them is a separate question, and it is usually the one that decides whether the judge ever sees them.
Two Statutes Govern How You May Gather It
Georgia’s eavesdropping and surveillance law, OCGA 16-11-60 through 16-11-69, covers recording conversations, intercepting messages, and video surveillance. The computer crimes article, OCGA 16-9-90 and following, covers getting into someone else’s device or accounts. Both carry felony penalties, and a spouse can violate either.
Illegally Obtained Evidence Is Excluded
Under OCGA 16-11-67, “[n]o evidence obtained in a manner which violates any of the provisions of this part shall be admissible in any court of this state except to prove violations of this part.” In Ransom v. Ransom, 253 Ga. 656 (1985), a husband recorded his wife’s telephone conversations in the marital residence to prove her infidelity. The Georgia Supreme Court held the recordings inadmissible, reading the statute to protect “all persons from invasions upon their privacy, including invasions made upon the privacy of one spouse by the other in a private place.”
Getting It In Is a Separate Question
Lawfully obtained evidence still has to be authenticated. Under OCGA 24-9-901(a), that requirement “shall be satisfied by evidence sufficient to support a finding that the matter in question is what its proponent claims.”
Discovery Is Broader Than Admissibility
In Ewing v. Ewing, 333 Ga. App. 766 (2015), a wife opened her husband’s email on his iPhone and had the messages forwarded to her own account. The Court of Appeals let her discovery go forward regardless of whether the emails would ever be admitted, because she was “entitled to engage in discovery which might lead to admissible evidence of the husband’s alleged adultery.”
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!