What are the legal repercussions of posting an email chain between myself and my daughter’s custodial parent exposing her downright shady behavior?
Many who “answered” your question didn’t read your question carefully.
You asked what the legal repercussions would be if you were to “post” (and by “post” I presume you meant sharing on social media or something like that) an e-mail chain between you and the other parent. You did NOT ask what would happen if you posted an e-mail chain between you and your daughter.
So to answer your question as you posed it:
First, if your daughter is old enough to read what you post or be read to and understand what you post, then posting correspondence on social media between you and her mother will likely do you more harm than good, to say nothing of the harm it might do you daughter and/or the harm it may do to the relationship between you and your daughter;
It is generally not illegal to post correspondence between two people, and I have difficulty imagining how posting an email chain between you and your child’s mother could rise to the level of being a crime; however, even if the posting is not illegal, beware: posting the email chain may expose you to criminal prosecution if the correspondence itself constitutes a crime, such as correspondence that contains threats of violence or correspondence that constitutes harassment or correspondence that constitutes stalking, etc. You also probably won’t want to post correspondence that casts you in a worse light than the other parent. Review with an attorney what you consider posting before you post.
The court won’t know about you having posted correspondence between you and the other parent unless someone brings the post to the court’s attention.
The court won’t care about you having posted correspondence between you and the other parent unless someone brings the post to the court’s attention and the post is relevant to any of the issues the court has to determine in your court case. If the correspondence between you and the other parent is not material (“material” evidence is evidence that is being offered to prove an element of a claim or defense that needs to be established for one side or the other to prevail) or relevant {evidence is not “relevant” unless it is first material and then has any tendency to make the existence of any fact of consequence to the action more or less probable than it would be without the evidence) than the court won’t pay much, if any, attention to it.
So if the email chain you have in mind shows:
- that Mom views pornography (legal pornography), but doesn’t expose the child to it, the court probably won’t care;
- that Mom likes to drink, but doesn’t get impaired by alcohol, the court probably won’t care;
- that Mom holds unpopular opinions, but those opinions do no harm, the court probably won’t care;
- that Mom argues with you over visitation or parent-time scheduling, but eventually works out a schedule with you, the court probably won’t care;
If the email chain you have in mind shows:
- that Mom makes illegal use of drugs, the court probably will care;
- that Mom gets drunk a lot (even if not around the child or when with the child), the court probably will care;
- that Mom admits to being violent with the child or that Mom neglects the child’s needs, the court probably will care;
- that Mom has lied to the court, to police, to the child welfare agencies, etc. in an effort to deceive the court about herself or about you, the court probably will care.
You get the idea?
So if you want the court to know about the email chain, so that the court can take it into account when making its orders, don’t post the chain on social media (all that does is air dirty laundry in public, and that can—and likely will—backfire on you), submit it directly to the court through proper channels.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277