Hello! I have been a commercial litigator for 39 years and have tried numerous cases to judges and juries in addition to arguing thousands of motions.

I have been judging speech and debate competitions for six years.

For Debate:

I do not mind speed as long as there is clarity. If I cannot understand you, I cannot follow your arguments. I do like a road map to help me follow you.

I am fairly familiar with debate jargon, but not necessarily every specific term. I enjoy seeing clash in the debate, flowing your arguments all the way through, and weighing arguments. I want to see the impacts and links within your arguments.

I do not mind passionate debaters, but please be respectful toward your opponents.

I do not like and don't understand progressive arguments.

For Speech Events:

I enjoy creativity in content and expression in delivery. I like movement and vocal expression.

For performance events my rankings are based mostly on the quality of the performance but also on how well your speech presented a full story.

For extempt and impromptu, I have a greater emphasis on organization and content than on delivery.