NASHUA, N.H. (AP) – A man who is serving a sentence for sexual assault asked Monday for a new trial, saying that the judge was sleeping during his trial.

Donald Spinner of Candia was convicted of sexual assault last year and was sentenced to at least 23 years in prison.

Spinner’s wife, Melissa Spinner, testified Monday that she saw Judge Patricia Coffey sleeping during the trial.

“Every thirty seconds she would close her eyes and kind of blink, like someone fighting to stay awake,” Mrs. Spinner said.

After a number of similar complaints, Coffey was investigated, but a panel found that she did not sleep on the job. As part of a settlement, she agreed to random monitoring in the courtroom.

Jurors from Spinner’s trial testified that they saw Coffey nodding off, but they said it had no impact on their deliberations or decision.

“I saw her eyes roll back and her head went back and she caught herself, it’s like a knee-jerk reaction,” one of the jurors testified.

Coffey has denied sleeping, saying a judge, or anyone in a courtroom, might close their eyes to concentrate, block distractions, stave off a headache, or mask potential reaction to shocking or unpleasant evidence.

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