How have the courts treated allegations of misconduct by one of the bailiffs during jury deliberations in a civil trial?

Equally serious were the allegations of alcohol use. According to the affidavits submitted by the defense, one of the bailiffs provided members of the jury with large quantities of alcohol, as a result of which one juror was unable to participate in the deliberations on the day the jury arrived at a verdict. Although jurors are under no duty to abstain from the use of alcoholic beverages when they are not deliberating, here the affidavits allege that the consumption of alcohol rendered the juror unable to competently perform her duties. (See Hasson v. Ford Motor Co. (1982) 32 Cal.3d 388, 412, 185 Cal.Rptr. 654, 650 P.2d 1171.) If true, this episode established misconduct, giving rise to a presumption of prejudice.