State v. Cleveland

*550OPINION

ANDERSON, Chief Justice.

The primary issue presented in this appeal of a conviction for attempted aggravated rape is whether the absence of a juror during a portion of the closing argument was harmless error, or whether it was prejudicial to the judicial process and required a new trial. A secondary issue is whether the trial court should have instructed the jury that aggravated assault is a lesser included offense of attempted aggravated rape.

At the beginning of the second day of trial, the trial judge replaced a missing juror with an alternate juror. When the missing juror appeared…