A New Jersey appeals court panel says yes -- and its recent ruling is notable not just for trying to crack down on texting and driving, but for interpreting the way that technology has reshaped life.
In the ruling, the court laid down a new standard of responsibility: two of the judges, with a third dissenting in part in a concurring opinion, said that texters could be held responsible in civil court for distracting a driver, provided they had a good reason to believe that the driver would actually respond.
