What happens if I don’t go to jury duty?

Jury duty is, depending on how you look at it, either a glistening privilege enabled by unique U.S. laws or a massive headache that occasionally steps in to interrupt your life.

The process allows U.S. citizens to take part in the judicial process in a real, tangible way that could result in massive impact. Few trials in the last century have carried the weight of Donald Trump’s current criminal trial, and the jury selected to hear arguments in his case are saddled with a truly enormous responsibility.

The pressure’s on for the New York jury currently deliberating a final verdict in the high-profile hush money trial. The people gathered to discuss and determine Donald Trump‘s guilt are more closely watched than anyone else in the nation, and some may be re-thinking their decision to show up during the jury selection process. Refusing to participate comes with its own lineup of negatives, however, which may make even sharing a court room with the notoriously stinky Trump look favorable.

What happens if you refuse to participate in jury duty?

Jurors are selected randomly, so — even if you’ve never been tapped to take part in this singular national experience — you’ll likely come up on the docket eventually. Should that happen, you’ll be faced with a choice: Respond and run the risk of being selected for what could be a lengthy trial, or refuse and let life keep to its typical course. Dodging jury duty isn’t an uncommon practice, but if done improperly it can carry some major consequences.

Jury duty is mandatory, but each state carries varying consequences for those who refuse a summons. In some areas of the nation you might get off with little more than a slap on the wrist, but in other states — like my own Illinois — a refusal could result in jail time.

If you miss the date on which you were supposed to report to court, in most any state you’ll be contacted and ordered to explain your absence. If your explanation is good enough, you’ll be graced with a fresh jury service date and released, but if it fails to impress the judge, you may well face harsher consequences.

Fines are common punishment, and they tend to vary in severity. Don’t fall for a scam if you happen to miss a jury summons, however — the court will not impose any fines until after you’ve met with a judge, and they’ll never ask for payment via phone or SMS.

If you don’t meet with a judge to explain your absence, that’s where the real trouble comes in. Doing so can result in a criminal complaint or even a warrant for your arrest, so if you neglect to show up to jury selection, best be sure you’ve got a good explanation ready for the judge.

There are several ways to get out of jury duty that won’t land you with jail time, but we’re not necessarily recommending them. Plenty of people have been dismissed in the past, however, whether because they were labeled as clearly biased, had other vital obligations, knew someone involved in the case, or because they simply know too much about the impending trial (true crime girlies, your moment has come).