Common to all Australian criminal courts, our justice system operates on an adversarial system. Inside the court a prosecutor represents the crown and a defense representative represents a defendant with both sides arguing their version of the case. Sworden (2006) identifies the adversarial system as a process that allows the truth of the matter to be determined. Using evidence, opposing counsel attempts to convince a jury that their version of events is true. If the prosecutor convinces the jury “beyond a reasonable doubt,” the accused is found guilty of the crime. Conversely, if the defense is able to raise reasonable doubt, the accused is found not guilty. The adversarial system in Australia includes five central features that support the equality and justice of the system. The management of the dispute both before and during the hearing is essentially left in the hands of the parties; Evidence is generally gathered through a procedure whereby each party takes turns calling witnesses whom they question and who are then questioned by the other party with the aim of discrediting or casting doubt on the accuracy or relevance of their testimony; The judge's role is to preside and act as a form of referee rather than taking an active part in the selection or questioning of witnesses; The judicial function is designed to be concentrated in a single continuous hearing; and, compliance with the rules of the court is, in general, enforced only at the request of one of the parties. Within the Australian criminal courts there are five main stakeholders. These are identified as; the police: those who initiate legal proceedings by bringing an accused before the court. In matters relating to magistrates' courts the police also act as public prosecutors. The accused is... middle of paper... an Alian adversarial system, where there is the fighting force of the government, the courts and the police to try to maintain these power imbalances. Money is often a shortage for most people, especially when the high cost of the courts is present. To control this power imbalance the government has put in place a number of forms of assistance when dealing with criminal and civil cases. In Queensland, legal aid in criminal matters is controlled by Legal Aid, a company established under the Legal Aid Queensland Act 1997 [2]. Legal assistance is provided in the form of legal representation for specific criminal proceedings. Secondly, there are established rules and regulations to prohibit any power imbalance or unfair influences between the two parties. The State is held just as responsible for following procedures and regulations as a defendant or prosecutor.