Donald Andrew Allen was found guilty by a jury of two counts of aggravated child molestation and three counts of child molestation. His motion for new trial was denied, and this appeal ensued. Allen raises two enumerations of error, contending that the trial court erred in ruling that he forfeited his right to open and conclude closing argument and alleging that his trial counsel was ineffective in seven respects. Because we find that the trial court correctly concluded that Allen forfeited his right to open and close and because Allen failed to preserve either of these contentions for appeal, we affirm his convictions. The victim in this case was Allen’s step-granddaughter, who was sixteen years of age at the time of trial. She reported to several individuals and testified at trial that Allen had been molesting her since she was eight or nine years old. During the State’s case-in-chief, the prosecutor showed a detective sergeant with the Newnan police department a Mother’s Day card the victim had sent to her grandmother, Allen’s wife. The detective indicated that he found the card, which was signed with love from the victim, on a coffee table at Allen’s home. He testified that he took the card with the grandmother’s permission, because “it seemed to have some bearing on the situation we were investigating.” On cross-examination, Allen’s counsel first questioned the detective about the card’s relevance to the case. Although nothing had been brought out on direct examination about the handwritten note on the card, the detective testified on cross-examination that it was his belief that the handwritten note indicated that the victim was sorry she said anything. Defense counsel then simply read aloud the entire handwritten note in the card with the exception of the signature line, then used the note to question the witness regarding what it may have shown regarding the victim’s truthfulness.
Even though the card had been marked by the State for identification prior to showing it to the witness, neither the State nor the defense tendered the card into evidence. Allen testified in his own defense but did not present any other witnesses. The reading of the entire handwritten note on the card formed the basis of the trial court’s ruling that Allen had forfeited his right to open and conclude the closing arguments.
