Can a court order be used to access someone’s private cell phone records?
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Can a court order be used to access someone’s private cell phone records?
If I have been gone and away from my cell phone and suspect my spouse has been using my cell phone to aid in adultery, If I file for divorce on the grounds of adultery, can the court system or divorce lawyer obtain “word-for-word, in detail” messages or pictures that were sent/received on my phone but have already been deleted? I contacted my phone company and they told me all they can show anyone is what type of message was sent (i.e. domestic text, or picture/video). They said a request would have to come from the court system for anything more “in detail”.
Asked on July 26, 2011 California
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
In California there is no required reason for a divorce such as adultery. It is a "no fault" state. If you want to divorce your spouse on the grounds of "adultery" and want to subpoena the telephone records as part of the divorce proceedings to prove "adultery" once the dissolution proceeding has been filed, the attorney for the other side could most likely "block" the intended subpoena on the grounds of relevance to the divorce proceeding under California law by filing a motion with the court to stop the document production requested.
The court will hear the motion and make a decision based upon the paperwork submitted.
If you has a lawsuit against someone where private phone records are sought for some reason other than adultery purposes in California such as proving that someone was talking on the cell phone when the accident happened, you most likely would be entitled to those records.
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
In California there is no required reason for a divorce such as adultery. It is a "no fault" state. If you want to divorce your spouse on the grounds of "adultery" and want to subpoena the telephone records as part of the divorce proceedings to prove "adultery" once the dissolution proceeding has been filed, the attorney for the other side could most likely "block" the intended subpoena on the grounds of relevance to the divorce proceeding under California law by filing a motion with the court to stop the document production requested.
The court will hear the motion and make a decision based upon the paperwork submitted.
If you has a lawsuit against someone where private phone records are sought for some reason other than adultery purposes in California such as proving that someone was talking on the cell phone when the accident happened, you most likely would be entitled to those records.
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