It is the responsibility of any judge to set aside personal biases, which I strive to do in full during any round of debate.  When I state that I am a traditional lay judge from an area that debates slower, I do not mean to imply that particular cases will be immediately discounted for their criticality or theoretical examinations of the event.  Rather, it is the responsibility of the debaters within the round to convince me of the superiority of their argument.  In determining a round, it should be considered that the entirety of the argument must be coherent and open to discussion on both sides.  In other words: please do not spread in a round without disclosing your case to myself and your opponent.  Debate is not particularly educational at excessive speaking speeds.

For deliberation, I look toward the flow of the debate itself.  While I expect that debaters are capable of tracking arguments and defending their cases, personal remarks or excessively abusive language may have an impact on deliberation.

Email:

beckman@mtsd.org