Riley v. State, 13-23-00359-CR, March 16, 2026.
On appeal from the 23rd District Court, Wharton County, Texas.
Synopsis
The Thirteenth Court of Appeals held that accessing an ex-spouse’s stored voicemail messages—using a known passcode and without consent—can constitute an “interception” of a wire/electronic communication under Texas Penal Code § 16.02. The court rejected the defense attempt to narrow “interception” to only contemporaneous acquisition during transmission, affirming that post-delivery acquisition from storage may still satisfy the statute.
Relevance to Family Law
For Texas family-law litigators, this opinion is not academic—it’s a litigation accelerant. It reframes “I just checked her voicemail” (or “I knew the passcode”) from a credibility issue into potential felony conduct that can drive temporary-orders outcomes (exclusive use, protective orders, supervised visitation, injunctions against digital access), discovery posture (forensic imaging and spoliation framing), and settlement leverage (risk management for the accused party, and safety narrative for the targeted party). It also supplies a clean evidentiary theme: once the victim changed the voicemail code, the “mysterious knowledge” stopped—supporting causation, intent, and the need for injunctive relief.
Case Summary
Fact Summary
The appellant and complainant were divorced and shared children. The complainant testified that during the marriage her phone was not locked because appellant did not want it locked; post-divorce she obtained a new iPhone, changed service providers, changed passwords, and began using device locks—yet did not change her voicemail passcode, which was tied to a personal number the appellant knew.
In late 2018 and early 2019, she received voicemails from dating services (including Elite Match Making and It’s Just Lunch). Shortly after the voicemails arrived, appellant sent text messages referencing the services and even the timing/location of appointments—information she had not otherwise shared. She later recorded a call in which appellant admitted he had “checked” her voicemails, coupled the admission with coercive language discouraging legal action, and claimed he had her password “all [his] life.” After she changed the voicemail passcode, the targeted conduct stopped.
The State charged two counts alleging appellant intentionally intercepted the complainant’s voicemail by using her phone password and voicemail passcode without her knowledge or consent. Appellant moved to quash, arguing stored voicemail cannot be “intercepted” because interception requires contemporaneous capture during transmission. The trial court denied the motion. The jury convicted on both counts, and the appellate court affirmed as modified.
Issues Decided
- Whether accessing an individual’s stored voicemail messages without consent (using a known passcode) constitutes an “interception” of a wire or electronic communication under Texas Penal Code § 16.02.
- Whether “interception” under § 16.02 requires contemporaneous acquisition during transmission, as opposed to acquisition after the communication is stored.
- (Additional appellate issues were raised in the case—jurisdiction/separation of powers, constitutional challenges, evidentiary sufficiency, and post-trial procedure—but the family-law significance centers on the statute’s construction of “interception.”)
Rules Applied
- Texas Penal Code § 16.02 (Unlawful Interception, Use, or Disclosure of Wire, Oral, or Electronic Communications).
- Statutory-definition framework associated with Texas wiretap law (including definitions incorporated through the Penal Code’s wiretap scheme and the Code of Criminal Procedure’s related provisions), as the appellant’s argument attempted to import a “contemporaneous” limitation from the concept of interception.
- Standard statutory-construction principles: the court declined to judicially add a contemporaneousness requirement not supported by the statutory text as applied to the charged conduct involving voicemail.
Application
The appellant’s core move was to characterize voicemail as a “stored communication,” then argue that stored communications can only be accessed, not intercepted, because interception supposedly requires capturing the communication in flight. The court rejected that narrowing construction. It treated the unauthorized acquisition of the voicemail contents—achieved by using the victim’s credentials/passcode—as the actionable “interception” for purposes of § 16.02.
Equally important for practitioners reading between the lines: the case was tried with classic “knowledge-of-private-information” proof. The complainant received third-party voicemails with sensitive details; appellant then demonstrated knowledge of those details and later admitted he accessed voicemails. Once the passcode changed, the pattern stopped. That narrative gave the State a straight-line theory of unauthorized acquisition, intent, and lack of consent—without requiring technical testimony about packet capture, carrier-level interception, or real-time monitoring.
Holding
The court held that the unauthorized acquisition of stored electronic or wire communications, including voicemail messages, can constitute an “interception” under Texas Penal Code § 16.02 when obtained without the user’s knowledge or consent using a passcode. The court expressly rejected the argument that interception requires contemporaneous acquisition during transmission, affirming the conviction theory premised on accessing messages in storage.
Practical Application
Family-law litigators should treat Riley as a ready-made bridge between digital misconduct and courtroom remedies—particularly at temporary orders, in protective-order litigation, and when framing best-interest and coercive-control narratives.
- Temporary orders / exclusive use / injunctions. If a party is accessing the other’s voicemail, iCloud/Google accounts, or device backups, Riley supports framing the conduct as not merely “privacy invasion” but potentially criminal interception. That framing matters for urgency, credibility, and narrowly tailored injunctive relief (no access to accounts/devices; password rotation; third-party custody exchanges; exclusive use of devices/accounts used for co-parenting).
- Protective orders and safety planning. The opinion’s fact pattern (monitoring + coercive statements discouraging legal action) fits common protective-order records. When the respondent’s “digital surveillance” is presented as felony-risk conduct, courts often become more receptive to: carve-outs for app-based parenting communication, restrictions on contact, and orders prohibiting tracking/account access.
- Discovery and spoliation strategy. The case underscores the evidentiary value of: authenticated voicemail files, carrier logs, device access logs, admissions in recorded calls/texts, and “change-the-passcode-and-it-stops” timelines. In family cases, these items support motions to compel, forensic protocols, and adverse-inference arguments if devices/accounts are wiped.
- Negotiation leverage (ethically handled). Where the evidence is strong, Riley increases risk exposure for the accused spouse. That often reshapes settlement posture on possession schedules, geographic restrictions, and protective provisions in decrees (technology non-interference clauses, account-separation requirements, fee shifting, and compliance mechanisms).
Checklists
Preserve and Package the “Voicemail Interception” Proof
- Secure the voicemail audio in its native format (or export with metadata) and maintain a clear chain of custody
- Obtain carrier records (where available) showing voicemail access events, resets, and device associations
- Capture screenshots of voicemail inbox, timestamps, call logs, and any “remote voicemail” access prompts
- Preserve the respondent’s texts demonstrating knowledge of voicemail-only facts (appointments, names, times)
- Document the timeline: voicemail received → respondent references details → passcode changed → conduct stops
- If lawful in your scenario, preserve party admissions (texts, emails, recorded calls, deposition excerpts)
Temporary Orders and Protective-Order Pleading Targets (Digital Misconduct)
- Request injunctions prohibiting access to the other party’s:
- voicemail boxes (including remote access)
- iCloud/Google accounts and device backups
- email accounts and authenticator apps
- cellular account portals (carrier login)
- Request orders requiring:
- password resets and MFA enablement
- carrier PIN changes and account-owner confirmation
- exclusive use of devices used for co-parenting communications
- Build relief around “best interest” and safety:
- supervised exchanges / neutral exchange locations
- restricted contact modalities (parenting app only)
- no harassment / no monitoring / no tracking provisions
Defensive Checklist (If Your Client Is Accused)
- Immediately instruct the client to stop all access to any account/device not clearly theirs
- Preserve evidence; do not “clean up” devices—avoid creating a spoliation problem
- Identify whether there is any consent evidence (written permission, prior course of conduct), and whether it is time-limited or revoked
- Evaluate whether access occurred via:
- shared device credentials
- family plan/carrier portal permissions
- saved passwords/biometric access
- Consider a forensic-neutral protocol early to prevent unilateral imaging fights
- In family pleadings, avoid admissions and craft narrowly tailored positions while criminal exposure is assessed
Decree / Temporary Orders Language to Prevent Recurrence
- Explicit mutual injunction against:
- accessing stored communications (voicemail, email, cloud files)
- attempting to bypass passcodes/MFA
- changing carrier or cloud credentials for the other party
- Require written notice and consent for any shared-account access (e.g., children’s devices)
- Parenting-app requirement with audit trail for communications
- Fee-shifting or enforcement provisions for violations (contempt where available; injunctive enforcement)
Citation
Riley v. State, No. 13-23-00359-CR (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi–Edinburg Mar. 16, 2026).
Full Opinion
Family Law Crossover
Although Riley is a criminal wiretap prosecution, the holding can be weaponized (and defended against) in divorce and SAPCR litigation because it upgrades common “digital snooping” fact patterns into a legally cognizable theory of unlawful interception. For the moving party, it supports fast, focused relief: you are no longer arguing abstract “privacy”—you are arguing that the opposing party’s access to stored voicemails may meet the statutory concept of interception, which strengthens (1) the immediacy of temporary restraining/injunctive requests, (2) the credibility of coercive-control allegations, and (3) the need for protective provisions tied to best interest and safety. For the responding party, it is an early-warning case: a casual “I knew the passcode” narrative can become Exhibit A for restrictive temporary orders, adverse credibility findings, and a settlement dynamic dominated by risk containment rather than merits.
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