State Judge Douglas Levine participated in an AITE mock trial on Monday afternoon. The trial is part of a project for the AP UConn ECE American Government and Politics class.

Students acted as attorneys, witnesses and jurors in a simulated hate crime. It was held at the Stamford Government Center, giving the students a more realistic feel for the mock case.

Levine has worked for over 30 years in Connecticut court as a trial and appellate judge. He came up with the details of the case, but it was the students’ job to work together to solve it.

“My hope is that this will give them a realistic idea of what a trial is, how it works. It’s all about doing things according to the rule of law,” said Levine.

AITE teacher Claude Morest said the best part of the trial project was being able to have Levine there to lead the teens.

“I think the students will learn a lot from having him here,” said Morest.