Courthouse Christmas Tree Removed

Such was the situation at the Dothan Alabama courthouse in Houston County where defense attorney Billy Joe Sheffield II, requested the deferment of 10 to 15 trials pending the removal of Christmas tree in the courthouse lobby. The tree was put up by a Houston County Chapter Victims of Crime and Leniency (VOCAL), which was founded in 1982 in an effort to create a more balanced system in which victim's rights are protected to the same extent as those of offenders.

According to Sheffield, the presence of the tree is a threat to his clients' right to a fair trial. “If I was on a jury, and on my way into the courtroom I saw a Christmas tree and a display with the words ‘against leniency' alongside pictures of murder victims, I might be influenced,” Sheffield said.


Sheffield, “a longtime supporter of VOCAL,” did not ask for the tree to be removed prior to the end of the holiday season but rather hoped to simply postpone his criminal cases until after the holiday season. However, after judges denied several of Sheffield's motions for deferment, Houston County prosecutors moved the Christmas tree to the office of Houston County District Attorney Douglas A. Valeska where it will not be viewed by jurors. Valeska, who also serves as the chairman of the board of VOCAL, will keep the tree in his second floor office until the criminal trials end.

Although Pat Jones, the founder and president of the Southeast Alabama chapter of VOCAL, has said that she is not bothered by the move, she maintains that even if the display had been left in the lobby, it would not have prejudiced jurors.

However, Sheffield clearly disagrees. “I'm not trying to be Scrooge here,” he asserts. “I just don't think a pro-D.A. organization- one that's funded by the D.A.- should turn a Christmas tree into a statement against leniency.” According to a 2009 Dothan Eagle article, the Houston County District Attorney's office provided $167,000 to VOCAL in 2007-2008. In the past, VOCAL sponsored Christmas trees were placed in front of the courthouse rather than in the lobby, thus eliminating any controversy.

As a paid attorney, Sheffield points out that he is just doing his job. “We're not cheap. You'd expect your attorney to preserve your rights,” said Sheffield, who felt that he “had to put something on the record,” in case he later needed to raise an appeal on jury-bias grounds.