Ex Parte Dison

This Court granted certiorari in order to respond to the following legal question: Whether an appeal from a conviction of a misdemeanor in district court upon an unsworn DUI ticket and complaint gives the circuit court jurisdiction in a trialde novo and allows the circuit court to verify the complaint, or whether a subsequent judgment of conviction in circuit court is void.

Appellant Dison was arrested by a state trooper on December 24, 1982, and given a ticket for driving under the influence of alcohol. The arresting officer signed the ticket and complaint, but it was not sworn to and…