There are at least three possible ways that you could access e-mail.

First, would be if a person 'hacks' into a computer system, meaning they break through a computer security system without authorization in order to get access to data. In the computer hacking situation, there are a variety of very serious criminal laws with which the person could be charged. These laws are all federal laws and would include computer fraud, computer and information theft laws and even cyber-terrorism laws. In a case where someone is caught 'hacking', they will likely face felony charges which carry prison sentences. With the rashes of computer viruses that have been introduced to computers over the last few years, federal prosecutors take computer hacking very seriously.

A second way to access e-mail would be to somehow gain access to the e-mail while it is being routed across the public Internet. E-mail is typically not secured at all and is transmitted in plain computer text over the Internet. In this case, it is most likely that someone would still need to 'hack' a computer system to gain this access, but it would be harder to charge the offender with something like theft, because the e-mail isn't secure when it is being sent through the public network. I mention this mostly so that we all remember that e-mail is totally unsecured and confidential information should never be sent through e-mail.

A last way to gain access to e-mail would be to simply walk up to an unsecured computer and start up the mail program on it. In this case, although it certainly isn't appropriate to read someone else's mail, this probably would not be criminal behavior. If the operator of a computer hasn't taken care to password protect their computer systems and software, then they would have very little expectation of privacy in their information. And in this case there likely would be no punishment.

You should remember, you are still held to the rules and policies that your workplace or school have about email. Even though it might be technically 'legal,' if you break school or job policies regarding email, you could face consequences such as suspension or loss of your job.