Yes—yes it does.

Skipping jury duty is an easy way to land yourself in completely unnecessary trouble. Massachusetts makes it rather difficult to miss or skip your service date. There are many chances to make right on your having skipped jury duty, but they are all time-consuming and potentially nerve-wracking.

After missing jury service, you will receive a “Failure to Appear” postcard. By phone or by mail, you can respond to this. If you have a reasonable excuse, such as illness, be sure to have a note from your doctor. You will then reschedule your service.

Ignoring this card (at your peril) will lead to a “Application for Criminal Complaint” summons to appear before a judge and explain yourself. You will likely receive a rebuke, and then be seated on the next available jury.

Not showing up to this initial hearing leads to the judge scheduling an arraignment date. Missing your arraignment date leads to a warrant for your arrest.

So don’t skip jury duty. Massachusetts makes it easy to make your service work around your schedule:

After receiving a summons in the mail, you should respond either online or in writing. You will receive a reminder notice in the mail about two weeks before your service date. The night before your service, you can call to see if you still need to report.

You can even reschedule your service online up to the day you are scheduled for. First-time rescheduling requests, by law, are always granted.

So stay out of trouble, show up for jury duty, and take pride in being part of our democratic legal system