A divided Kansas Court of Appeals overturned a man’s firearm convictions because the judge fell asleep.

Daquantrius Johnson was convicted of criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, aggravated assault and criminal discharge of a firearm. Those convictions were reversed Friday in a 2-1 ruling.

"This error affected the framework of the entire trial. Our citizens expect a fully awake trial judge presiding over a criminal trial," wrote appeals court Judge Stephen Hill.

During the second day of Johnson’s trial, a juror pulled the bailiff aside and told her Sedgwick County District Judge Benjamin Burgess had been sleeping. The juror questioned whether Johnson’s right to a fair trial had been infringed upon by the inattentive judge. The bailiff passed the remark on to Burgess.

"You are the trier of facts," Burgess told jurors. "I decide what evidence you will hear and what instructions you will receive. I don’t believe during the course of this trial yesterday afternoon there were any objections raised that I had to make rulings on that would have been affected by my nodding off.

"I acknowledge myself, ladies and gentlemen, that I did nod off some. I doubt that I’m the first judge in America that’s ever done that."

Johnson’s defense attorney didn’t request a mistrial, so the trial was allowed to continue. The defendant was convicted and sentenced to 43 months in prison, plus a year of probation and lifetime registration.

The question before the Court of Appeals was whether a sleeping judge was a structural error — an error so egregious that immediate reversal of all convictions is necessary. Two of the three appellate judges — Hill and Judge Steve Leben — determined it was.

"How can a sleeping judge supervise anything other than his or her dreams? Is the trial really ‘in the presence’ of a sleeping judge?" Hill wrote.

Judge Michael Buser, in a dissenting opinion, wrote that Johnson wasn’t prejudiced by Burgess’ inattentiveness. He said the opinion by Hill and Leben was "without precedent in Kansas statutory law or caselaw."

Buser speculated that the decision by Johnson’s attorney to not request a mistrial was "an insurance policy" that would allow the defendant to obtain a reversal if convicted.

"A new structural error standard applied in these situations would be without precedent, unnecessary, and prone to abuse by defense counsel," Buser wrote.

As a result of the Court of Appeals ruling, Johnson’s convictions are vacated and his case returns to Sedgwick County for a new trial.

Burgess, who was re-elected in 2014, will be up for re-election again in 2018. He has held the judgeship since 2003 and was formerly Kansas’ U.S. attorney from 1985 to 1990. He was also an attorney and director of ethics and business conduct for Koch Industries in the decade following his stint as U.S. attorney, according to an online biography.