Privacy Laws in Texas

[jayb75]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
I was not sure where to post this. I guess it would fall under both criminal law and divorce. Please let me know if i should remove my post and put in divorce. But anyway come to find out my wife has been video recording me without my consent or knowledge for a month in my own house to use against me in the divorce that we are in the middle of. I told my lawyer about this and he didnt think it was a big deal. He told me i could call the police or find the camera and take it. I decided to call the police and they told me that since both of us were residence of the house she has a right to video record me. Everything that i have read says this is going against the privacy laws for Texas. And the only thing that i have done bad on video was taking the batteries out of the remotes and replacing them with dead ones. But any help on this subject would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[eerelations]

Why did you replace the live batteries in the remote with dead ones? If your wife has been video recording you to show the courts that you're one heckuva weird guy and therefore impossible to live with, well then, she has succeeded.

 

[jayb75]

Why did you replace the live batteries in the remote with dead ones? If your wife has been video recording you to show the courts that you're one heckuva weird guy and therefore impossible to live with, well then, she has succeeded.

I know it was childish but i was angry. Her life is not changing and mine is getting worse. Im financially strapped, I had to pay for a apartment so i had to leave a lot of items in the house. Moving form 2400 square feet to 700 square feet. She has 2 other children she gets child support from and now from me and her child support pays for her entire mortgage. I have given her the house and agreed to her temporary orders of me moving out a week before Christmas and paying child support. We have a 2 1/2 year old son together and it seems like she is getting everything she wants from this divorce this will be her third divorce and she told me that she would move to West Virginia where her family is and i would never see my son. But thats getting off the topic. Is she within Texas law doing this?

 

[CTU]

I know it was childish but i was angry. Her life is not changing and mine is getting worse. Im financially strapped, I had to pay for a apartment so i had to leave a lot of items in the house. Moving form 2400 square feet to 700 square feet. She has 2 other children she gets child support from and now from me and her child support pays for her entire mortgage. I have given her the house and agreed to her temporary orders of me moving out a week before Christmas and paying child support. We have a 2 1/2 year old son together and it seems like she is getting everything she wants from this divorce this will be her third divorce and she told me that she would move to West Virginia where her family is and i would never see my son. But thats getting off the topic. Is she within Texas law doing this?

Are you trying to prove that you're unstable?!

Dude - STOP IT! You've AGREED to everything she has - you don't get to sit and whine about it now. Nobody forced you to agree.

As far as video taping goes, it's audio recording that gets tricky. Listen to your attorney and for pete's sake STOP being an arse. It won't help you.

 

[quincy]

... Is she within Texas law doing this?

I assume your lawyer and the police officer you spoke to were given more facts about the recording than you have given here.

Following are links to the laws on recording in Texas. Whether the recordings violate Texas law depend on what exactly was captured on the recordings, and where in the house you were recorded:

From the Digital Media Law Project: http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/texas-recording-law

From the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: https://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide/state-state-guide/texas

I won't get into your divorce issues. Apparently that topic has been covered thoroughly elsewhere on the forum.

 

[jayb75]

I assume your lawyer and the police officer you spoke to were given more facts about the recording than you have given here.

Following are links to the laws on recording in Texas. Whether the recordings violate Texas law depend on what exactly was captured on the recordings, and where in the house you were recorded:

From the Digital Media Law Project: http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/texas-recording-law

From the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: https://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide/state-state-guide/texas

I won't get into your divorce issues. Apparently that topic has been covered thoroughly elsewhere on the forum.

Quincy, thank you for your helpful response. I appreciate it!

 

[quincy]

Quincy, thank you for your helpful response. I appreciate it!

You're welcome, jayb75. Thanks for the thanks.

It is good that you have a lawyer working for you. Divorces can get messy. Good luck.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
I was not sure where to post this. I guess it would fall under both criminal law and divorce. Please let me know if i should remove my post and put in divorce. But anyway come to find out my wife has been video recording me without my consent or knowledge for a month in my own house to use against me in the divorce that we are in the middle of. I told my lawyer about this and he didnt think it was a big deal. He told me i could call the police or find the camera and take it. I decided to call the police and they told me that since both of us were residence of the house she has a right to video record me. Everything that i have read says this is going against the privacy laws for Texas. And the only thing that i have done bad on video was taking the batteries out of the remotes and replacing them with dead ones. But any help on this subject would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

RE the bolded: Why in the world would you do anything that childish? Seriously? I hope that is not the tone that your whole divorce is taking.

In any case, if your lawyer doesn't think its a big deal, then its likely not a big deal. Obviously the police do not think that it is a big deal either.

 

[jayb75]

RE the bolded: Why in the world would you do anything that childish? Seriously? I hope that is not the tone that your whole divorce is taking.

In any case, if your lawyer doesn't think its a big deal, then its likely not a big deal. Obviously the police do not think that it is a big deal either.

Like i said i admit it was stupid. I was upset and it was just one of those stupid ideas you get in your head. She has called the police on me 8 times in 3 weeks for stupid reasons and she has taken packages in front of me that are addressed to me and put them in her trunk of her car saying "community item its mine". And one time i went outside to get something out of my car and she locked me out of the house for 5 mins (of course left my keys in the house). After i came in she took my laptop which was a Christmas gift from her 2 years ago. I agree we both are acting like children in this divorce.

 

[LdiJ]

Like i said i admit it was stupid. I was upset and it was just one of those stupid ideas you get in your head. She has called the police on me 8 times in 3 weeks for stupid reasons and she has taken packages in front of me that are addressed to me and put them in her trunk of her car saying "community item its mine". And one time i went outside to get something out of my car and she locked me out of the house for 5 mins (of course left my keys in the house). After i came in she took my laptop which was a Christmas gift from her 2 years ago. I agree we both are acting like children in this divorce.

You need to stop doing childish things even if she doesn't stop. Unless one of you starts acting like a grown up things are just going to get worse and worse, until something happens that you may not be able to take back.