It's the letter that so many Californians dread: a jury duty summons that warns you to respond and show up or face fines and even jail time.

But are the courts carrying out those threats, and are they even effective at getting people to show up?

CBS News California Investigates correspondent Julie Watts set out to learn what really happens if you dodge jury duty. What she found was surprising.

When Mike Spratt was summoned for jury duty, it was more than an inconvenience for him — his wife, Maria, lives with Parkinson's disease and was home alone while he was at the courthouse.

Spratt also thought he had to appear. Jury summons letters state that you are "required by law" to respond. When it comes to jury duty dodging, it turns out that those three words may not mean much.

CBS News Ca

See Full Page