I competed in policy debate in high school and a year in NDT debate at Loyola Marymount University in the 1970's. That was usually fast, spread debating. I was an assistant debate coach at New Roads School in Santa Monica, California from 2017 to 2020, predominantly focused on Parli debate. Don't feel obligated to spread. Do speak clearly. I appreciate slow and intelligible tag-lines, repeated when appropriate. Signposting and off-time roadmaps are vital. I take notes on paper with a flow sheet, not a laptop computer, so I expect debaters to explain what contention they're on and where they're going.

I'm a courtroom lawyer, so I appreciate persuasive and logical advocacy, spoken well. At the California Attorney General's Office, I argued in the California Court of Appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the California Supreme Court. I admire the classic modes of persuasion - ethos, logos, and even pathos. I appreciate powerful persuasion, specific examples and citations, and an authentic appeal to what is just and equitable. It's possible to be incisive and analytical while also being genuine and moving. I've done jury trials - about 20 - and myriad hearings on motions, in civil litigation and on both sides of the criminal law world, so I'm especially grateful for an eloquent speech, with cogent analysis, clear inflection and minimal jargon. Be open to humor and some whimsy; debate doesn't have to be solemn.

If you suggest a weighing mechanism, then you should actually use it to weigh each side's arguments. I prefer probability to magnitude unless convinced otherwise. I love a true clash of cases and policies, argued creatively and persuasively. Emphasize the relative importance of particular arguments. It sounds obvious, but arguments, claims and debate theory should be warranted. You have the burden of persuasion on your claims, which also seems obvious but sometimes gets lost in the weeds. Someday you will be advocating in the real world, where people need, even want, to be convinced, where consequences are material, and where impacts are weighed. I'll be looking for you to weigh arguments and impacts.

Dropping an argument essentially means conceding the argument, but that's my default. I still would consider whether there was a warrant for the argument to begin with, and I'd listen to analysis about the argument's weight.

I'm open to Kritiks, but I prefer them to be logical, interesting, and well-explained.

I expect everyone to be respectful and courteous. Not only is that clearly the right way to be, it is also a preferable way of being convincing. Long after your competitive debate days are over, you still will be benefiting in countless ways from skills you learned and refined in debate. One of those skills is the ability to make or refute an argument with concise but passionate sophistication, disagreeing without being disagreeable. You can do it. And I look forward to hearing it!

Be kind. Have fun. Persuade!

As a prior college debater, I enjoy every intricacy of the academic activity know as debate. The team that provides a balance of defence and offence will be the victor.

I am a parent judge; this is my second year of judging high school debate and I previously judged two years of middle school debate. I am a financial economist and have provided expert testimony in federal, state, bankruptcy, and tax court over the last twenty years. I also worked for several years for an international law firm as an in-house expert. I have taught economics, finance, and law and economics at SUNY Stonybrook, University of Southern California, and the NY Institute of Finance.

I do not have particular knowledge of technical debate. I am analytically minded and, given my background, very familiar with the back and forth of rebuttal and response. Please be organized and speak clearly. I will judge based on what I can follow in your arguments. Logical argument, credible and relevant evidence, and meaningfulness (why should I care?) are most important to me. A couple of well-developed and articulated points is better than many relatively incoherent points.