Tape recording spouse...can it be used in court?

ok, let’s say 1 spouse committed an adulterous act, and the other spouse tape recorded the 1st spouse without their knowledge or consent and was not a part of the conversation that took place. then both spouses went to court but after much deliberation decided to reconcile and work it out. now, it’s over 3 years later and the 1st spouse wants out because things are not going well, but they are not going to make any mistakes again while they are still with their spouse. can the 2nd spouse (the one that tapped the 1st spouse) use the old tape recordings from the 1st time again as evidence against the 1st spouse in court? and is it legal or illegal in nc to tape or video record your spouse without their consent or knowledge? Thanks!

Hi I am going through the same thing and may have some answers for you. Erin may disagree. From my understanding NC law states that one party participating in the conversation needs to be aware of the recording for it to be admissable.
A third outside party may not record a conversation between two unknowing people and have it be admissable. Further I believe that you need to be concerned about the issue of condonation if admitting that you were aware of your spouses affair yet agreed to reconcile. Condonation basically means forgiveness of an act of wrongdoing. So if I were your spouse I would argue that you obviously knew of the affair and upon the agreement to reconcile you forgave my past indescretion.
You can find lots of infomation on both condonation and the laws governing recording/taping in nc on google.
Best of Luck

The video tape evidence was not legally obtained, but may still come to evidence as impeachment evidence, ie not to prove what happened on tape, but to discredit the other spouse and show dishonest tendencies. In my opinion however, the reconciliation, and the three year gap would make the tape irrelevant. The affair was condoned.