Sleepy judge didn’t ruin weapons case against felon who also stole dying woman’s ring
A Sedgwick County judge who fell asleep during a trial committed an error, but not enough of one to justify a new trial, the Kansas Supreme Court has ruled.
Justices made that ruling in a weapons case against Daquantrius Shaquille Johnson.
Johnson, alias “Peewee,” is a well-known felon in Wichita who sparked community outrage in a separate case, where he stole the wedding ring from a dying woman’s finger as she suffered a fatal brain aneurysm at a fast-food drive-through in late 2013.
In the case currently before the Supreme Court, Johnson was seeking a new trial for a 2014 conviction of illegally possessing and firing a weapon and aggravated assault.
Johnson’s right to possess firearms was revoked after a 2012 sexual battery conviction when he was a juvenile.
During trial on the weapons and assault charges, the judge in Johnson’s case, Benjamin Burgess, who is now retired, nodded off in the afternoon of the first day of the trial, according to court records.
A juror noticed the judge was sleeping at the bench and questioned whether Johnson was getting a fair trial, according to court documents.
The state Court of Appeals found the judge’s napping to be a “structural error” in the trial and ordered a new trial for Johnson.
The Supreme Court disagreed, in a ruling delivered by Justice Caleb Stegall, who likened the situation to nodding off while driving.
“Just like a driver who feels the overwhelming physical need for sleep should immediately get off the road, a responsible judge charged with overseeing a criminal trial who feels the need for sleep, and can no longer successfully put it off, has a responsibility to call a halt to the proceedings,” the ruling said. “But just as not every dozing driver causes an accident, not every instance of a dozing judge must lead to an automatic reversal.”
The justices ruled that while Burgess was inattentive, it wasn’t the equivalent of him being absent from the courtroom, as the appeals court had ruled.
“A judge who is fighting to stay awake may still be able to control and respond to events happening in the courtroom,” the ruling said. “This situation is more akin to a judge who — like any human being — succumbs to a distraction. Though less than ideal, distractions happen often on the bench . . . they are almost inevitable.”
The case is being sent back to the appeals court for further consideration of other objections Johnson has raised.
Johnson remains in prison serving an 11-year sentence for his conviction in the ring-stealing case, which was filed about the same time as the weapons charges.
A jury decided Johnson stole the ring, purse and phone of Danielle Zimmerman when she was unconscious after suffering a brain aneurysm while in a Taco Bell drive-through on East Harry on Dec. 29, 2013.
Two accomplices in the robbery served much shorter sentences and have been released, according to state prison records.
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 3:22 PM.
