#ProjectCitizen: Jury duty is one of the few requirements of citizenship

A woman stands in the doorway of a courtroom closed due to budget cuts and layoffs, at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles March 16, 2009. Beset by an unprecedented budget crisis, the LA Superior Court, the largest trial court system in the US, today laid of 329 employees and announced the closure of 17 courtrooms, with more of both expected in the future. AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

In 2011, about 2.3 million people were sent jury summons in L.A. County. About half actually reported for duty, and many of those made excuses to get out of their civic responsibility.

This is one part in a new KPCC series looking at the rights, responsibilities, traditions and privileges that come along with being a citizen. Let us know what you think.

Fireworks, parades, barbeques — they're all popular traditions associated with the Fourth of July. But the holiday is also an occasion to consider what it means to be an American citizen.

To answer that, KPCC is launching a new series called "Project Citizen." Our stories will look at the responsibilities, traditions, and privileges that citizenship entails. Like jury duty.

KPCC's Rina Palta says getting people to perform this important task can be problematic.