Albert Johnson, Petitioner v. Ryan Lee Schonlaw and Vcg Restaurants Denver, Inc., D/b/a Pt's All Nude, a Colorado…

Summary

The court held that permitting an alternate juror to deliberate in a civil case without the parties' agreement was trial error subject to harmless-error review, not an automatic presumption of prejudice. Because the alternate had been selected and vetted like the other jurors and the record did not show that the participation substantially influenced the verdict or impaired trial fairness, the error did not affect the defendants' substantial rights. Justice Gabriel, joined by Justice Hood, dissented and would have applied a rebuttable presumption of prejudice and ordered a new trial.