A jury summons is one of the very few pieces of mail with a contempt power behind it, and almost nothing most people believe about it is accurate. This article explains what jury service actually requires. It covers where the list of names comes from and why that is a constitutional question, who is qualified and who is excluded, and the difference between an excusal and a deferral that nobody explains. It works through what jurors are actually paid and why the figure is so small, the federal statute that protects your job and the state laws that mostly do not, what happens during selection, and what you may and may not be asked. It then covers the rules governing your conduct as a juror, the verdict, what happens if you do not show up, and the jury duty scam that works precisely because people take the summons seriously.