People v. Livingston

In People v. Livingston (2012) 53 Cal.4th 1145, the nonhearsay purpose of the out-of-court statement was to explain certain conduct (why rival gang members ran across the street away from the defendant's car, which had someone in it shooting at them). It was relevant to an issue in the case, the location of the defendant and his easily recognizable car at the time of the shooting offense, as that affected the actions of the rival gang member who spoke. (Id. at p. 1161.) Introduction of that out-of-court statement was not done in violation of confrontation clause restrictions, because it was brought in for nonhearsay purposes, to show a response. (Id. at pp. 1162-1164.) In Livingston, supra, 53 Cal.4th 1145, 1162, the court identified and applied this "'"important category of nonhearsay evidence--evidence of a declarant's statement that is offered to prove that the statement imparted certain information to the hearer and that the hearer, believing such information to be true, acted in conformity with that belief. The statement is not hearsay, since it is the hearer's reaction to the statement that is the relevant fact sought to be proved, not the truth of the matter asserted in the statement."'"