{"id":14908,"date":"2025-04-09T18:00:56","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T22:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/?p=14908"},"modified":"2025-04-04T16:26:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T20:26:42","slug":"hearsay-cross-examination-and-constructive-possession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/hearsay-cross-examination-and-constructive-possession\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearsay Cross-Examination and Constructive Possession\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\" data-start=\"226\" data-end=\"1210\">In North Carolina <em data-start=\"229\" data-end=\"245\">v. Capps<\/em>, the North Carolina Court of Appeals examined two key issues arising from a felonious possession of stolen goods conviction: (1) whether the <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-14913 alignright lazyload\" src=\"\/jshared\/img\/icons\/spinner.svg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/WHAT-IS-CONSTRUCTIVE-POSSESSION-IN-NORTH-CAROLINA-300x168.jpeg\" alt=\"WHAT-IS-CONSTRUCTIVE-POSSESSION-IN-NORTH-CAROLINA-300x168\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/WHAT-IS-CONSTRUCTIVE-POSSESSION-IN-NORTH-CAROLINA-300x168.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/WHAT-IS-CONSTRUCTIVE-POSSESSION-IN-NORTH-CAROLINA-1024x574.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/WHAT-IS-CONSTRUCTIVE-POSSESSION-IN-NORTH-CAROLINA-768x431.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/WHAT-IS-CONSTRUCTIVE-POSSESSION-IN-NORTH-CAROLINA-1000x561.jpeg 1000w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/WHAT-IS-CONSTRUCTIVE-POSSESSION-IN-NORTH-CAROLINA-214x120.jpeg 214w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/WHAT-IS-CONSTRUCTIVE-POSSESSION-IN-NORTH-CAROLINA.jpeg 1312w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> evidence was sufficient to prove the defendant\u2019s constructive possession of stolen property; and (2) whether the trial court erred by excluding as hearsay certain testimony during cross-examination.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"226\" data-end=\"1210\">The published April 2025 opinion provides insight into how appellate courts analyze hearsay preservation requirements and the evidentiary threshold for constructive possession in criminal cases. The court ultimately found no error, emphasizing the importance of proper trial procedure (like making an offer of proof for excluded evidence) and outlining the incriminating circumstances that supported submitting the case to the jury. Below, we break down the court\u2019s reasoning on each issue and highlight practical lessons for attorneys and judges handling similar evidentiary and sufficiency questions.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"226\" data-end=\"1210\">Facing serious felony charges can be overwhelming. At <a href=\"https:\/\/g.co\/kgs\/suCSjiQ\" target=\"_blank\">Powers Law Firm<\/a>, we offer steady, experienced guidance to help navigate the legal system with clarity and care. We represent clients across the Charlotte metro region, including Union, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Gaston, Rowan, and Lincoln Counties. To talk through your situation and explore your options, call 704-342-4357.<\/p>\n<div class=\"read_more_link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/hearsay-cross-examination-and-constructive-possession\/\"  title=\"Continue Reading Hearsay Cross-Examination and Constructive Possession\u00a0\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In North Carolina v. Capps, the North Carolina Court of Appeals examined two key issues arising from a felonious possession of stolen goods conviction: (1) whether the evidence was sufficient to prove the defendant\u2019s constructive possession of stolen property; and (2) whether the trial court erred by excluding as hearsay certain testimony during cross-examination. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14912,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[110,1540,1558,1563,1564,1559,1555,1566,1561,1560,1430,1567,1562,1565,1568],"class_list":["post-14908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-criminal-defense","tag-bill-powers-attorney","tag-charlotte-criminal-defense-lawyers","tag-constructive-possession-nc","tag-criminal-defense-strategy-nc","tag-felony-possession-of-stolen-goods","tag-hearsay-rule-north-carolina","tag-iredell-criminal-defense","tag-nc-appellate-court-decisions","tag-north-carolina-court-of-appeals-cases","tag-offer-of-proof-criminal-trial","tag-powers-law-firm","tag-state-v-capps-case-summary","tag-sufficiency-of-evidence-nc","tag-trial-preservation-rules-nc","tag-union-county-nc-defense-attorneys"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Hearsay Cross-Examination and Constructive Possession\u00a0 &#8212; Carolina Criminal Defense &amp; DUI Lawyer Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"constructive possession and hearsay preservation rules in NC criminal trials - Powers Law Firm - Courtroom Lawyers: 704-342-4357 - Bill Powers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/hearsay-cross-examination-and-constructive-possession\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Hearsay Cross-Examination and Constructive Possession\u00a0 &#8212; Carolina Criminal Defense &amp; DUI Lawyer Updates\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"constructive possession and hearsay preservation rules in NC criminal trials - Powers Law Firm - Courtroom Lawyers: 704-342-4357 - Bill Powers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/CONSTRUCTIVE-POSSESSION.webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carolina Attorneys\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"16 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hearsay Cross-Examination and Constructive Possession\u00a0 &#8212; Carolina Criminal Defense &amp; DUI Lawyer Updates","description":"constructive possession and hearsay preservation rules in NC criminal trials - Powers Law Firm - Courtroom Lawyers: 704-342-4357 - Bill Powers","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/hearsay-cross-examination-and-constructive-possession\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Hearsay Cross-Examination and Constructive Possession\u00a0 &#8212; Carolina Criminal Defense &amp; DUI Lawyer Updates","twitter_description":"constructive possession and hearsay preservation rules in NC criminal trials - Powers Law Firm - Courtroom Lawyers: 704-342-4357 - Bill Powers","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/CONSTRUCTIVE-POSSESSION.webp","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Carolina Attorneys","Est. reading time":"16 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/hearsay-cross-examination-and-constructive-possession\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/hearsay-cross-examination-and-constructive-possession\/"},"author":{"name":"Carolina Attorneys","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7b1994a08a51b357b94c69492e786113"},"headline":"Hearsay Cross-Examination and Constructive Possession\u00a0","datePublished":"2025-04-09T22:00:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/hearsay-cross-examination-and-constructive-possession\/"},"wordCount":3527,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/hearsay-cross-examination-and-constructive-possession\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/CONSTRUCTIVE-POSSESSION.webp","keywords":["bill powers attorney","Charlotte Criminal Defense Lawyers","constructive possession NC","criminal defense strategy NC","felony possession of stolen goods","hearsay rule North Carolina","Iredell Criminal Defense","NC appellate court decisions","North Carolina Court of Appeals cases","offer of proof criminal trial","Powers Law Firm","State v. 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