COLUMBIA, SC (AP/FOX Carolina) -The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled a man’s privacy was not violated when his wife’s daughter-in-law managed to get into his email and find out the name of his lover.

The justices unanimously ruled Wednesday that since the emails were still in the husband’s inbox, the daughter-in-law did not violate a 1986 federal law about email storage.

The case started when M. Lee Jennings’ wife found a card and flowers for another woman in his car. He admitted he was in love with the other woman, but would not give her name.

The wife turned to Holly Broome, who was the wife of her son from a previous marriage. Broome once worked for Jennings and was able to guess the answer to his security question and access his email.

Some computer users at the Coffee Underground in downtown Greenville said they were shocked by the court’s opinion.

“Obviously the privacy of having my own email is not going to be enough,” Ferah Mohammed said as she clicked through a website. “If that ruling stands, I feel like a lot of people are going to feel insecure about what they do on their email.”

FOX Carolina also talked to Grant Varner, a Greenville attorney. He didn’t represent anyone in the case, but said the lawsuit was filed under the Stored Communications Act.

“An email received that is not deleted or permanently stored somewhere for the purpose of a backup is exactly the same as letter that has come in the U.S. mail and left on the kitchen counter for the world to read,” Varner said.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press/FOX Carolina (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.

         By: Melissa Keeney | WSPA-TV
Published: May 18, 2012

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GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. –Just two weeks before summer vacation, the Greenville County school district is dealing with an unwelcome distraction.  Ten bomb threats have been reported at campuses across the county in the last few weeks, according to spokesman Oby Lyles.  “It seems to be a lot back to back,” Lyles says.  The latest happened Friday at a district career center.  Thursday, two 14 year old boys were arrested after back to back bomb threats at Blue Ridge Middle School.  Wednesday, a threat was found written on a wall at Blue Ridge High School.  “The major message we want to make is this is not funny,” says Lyles.

If convicted, the students charged face a felony, carrying up to 10 years in prison.  “We’re very serious about safety, and we’re very serious about catching the students and making sure they face disciplinary and criminal charges.”  However, the numbers show that the chance of a kid serving that full 10 year sentence is low.  According to the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, one juvenile served time behind bars for making a bomb threat in 2011.  There were no juveniles in the system for 2009 and 2010.

Since many charged are under the age of 17, they end up in family court, where the rules are different than if they were charged as an adult.  In Greenville County, defense attorney Grant Varner says many may end up in a program known as “Juvenile Diversion Services.  “It’s essentially a form of probation,” Varner says.  If a juvenile does not have a criminal record, they can be eligible for the intervention program, which includes everything from counseling to community service and meetings with a probation officer, but often avoids jail time.  “It gives them an opportunity to rehabilitate, meet with counselors, understand the error of their ways and rather than giving them a harsh sentence that could potentially affect the rest of their lives, it’s hoping to teach them a lesson,” says Varner.

Lyles says regardless of how much time students serve, the district hopes to send a strong message.  “This is serious business,” he says.