The adversarial system of justice used throughout the United States is designed to pit the accuser against the accused through the experience, training, and talents of the attorneys. Although every criminal defendant who may face a jail sentence is entitled to the effective assistance of counsel and to a trial by jury, there are inherent inequalities in the ability of the poor and the rich to defend against the power and resources of a government prosecutor's office.
Identify advantages and disadvantages inherent within an adversarial system of justice that allow the powerful to be pitted against the weak, the experienced against the inexperienced, and the rich against the poor.