In this article I discuss logistics (course design and implementation) as well as course outcomes (the effects on what students learned about the judiciary as well as the results of the civically engaged classroom) related to the Courtroom Observation Research Paper Assignment in Introduction to Law and Politics. The assignment required students to visit a variety of federal and state courthouses and to observe criminal and civil cases at the trial and appellate levels. In their research, students were asked to integrate what they learned during courtroom observation with what we were covering in lecture and in assigned readings. The courtroom became an extension of the classroom, providing valuable lessons about the state and federal judicial processes.