State v. Sorsby

The State of Alabama filed this petition for a writ of mandamus directing Judge David N. Lichtenstein to grant the State’s motion to dismiss William Kenneth Sors-by’s appeal for a trial de novo. On March 8, 2005, Sorsby pleaded guilty in the Jefferson District Court to driving under the influence.1 On March 11, 2005, Sorsby filed a notice of appeal for a trial de novo in the Jefferson Circuit Court. On July 14, 2005, the State moved that the appeal be dismissed because, it argued, the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to consider the appeal in that when he pleaded guilty Sorsby did not…