The adversary versus inquisitorial contrast is overstated in practice

Evidence

In fact, the adversary system is much less adversarial than most people think, and the inquisitorial system is less inquisitorial. An American judge is not always neutral and helpless. The judge can dominate the trial in both obvious and subtle ways. Some specialized courts (family courts, for example) have gotten far away from the adversary system: the judges have tremendous leeway. — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 346

Categorization

• XREF: Nudges against the tidy law-vs-equity and common-vs-civil-law binaries the rest of the book establishes. — connects to: Inquisitorial systems give judges rather than lawyers the dominant courtroom role — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law: An Introduction, 343; Adversarial lawyers serve clients while inquisitorial lawyers serve justice — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 636; The adversary system works by having opposing sides produce and challenge evidence — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 802 (+1 more)