A recent New Jersey case serves as a reminder that “getting the goods on your spouse” via their computer may not be all it’s cracked up to be.

In this New Jersey case, the spied-on wife walked away from their divorce with an extra $7,500 because of it. That’s bad enough.

But unauthorized interception of real-time electronic communications is illegal in some states, including Florida. This parallels non-consensual phone-tapping, which is also illegal in many states, including Florida.

The “goods” probably won’t be allowed in family court – and you may go to jail for your trouble.

And even if the goods are admissible, the risks may all have been for nothing.

Real-time communications, such as in chatrooms and instant-messaging, are likely to show only infidelity. In no-fault states, such as Florida, one spouse’s infidelity often has no impact on their divorce case.

Read more about the consequences of interception of real-time electronic communications in this ZDNet article, Police blotter: Husband spies on wife’s computer and this other ZDNet article, Court: Wife broke law with spyware on a Florida case.