National Speech and Debate Tournament

2025 — Des Moines, IA/US

Sean Bradley Paradigm
Lincoln-Douglas
Lincoln Douglas Debate Judge Philosophy

Your experience with LD Debate (check all that apply)

Current LD coach
Experienced LD judge
Speech coach

How many years have you judged LD debate?

1

How many LD rounds have you judged this year?

21-30

What is your preferred rate of delivery?

7/91 = Slow conversational style
9 = Rapid conversation speed
 

Does the rate of delivery weigh heavily in your decision?

N
 

Will you vote against a student solely for exceeding your preferred speed?

N

How important is the criterion in making your decision?

It may be a factor depending on its use in the round
 

Do you feel that a value and criterion are required elements of a case?

Y

Rebuttals and Crystallization

 

Voting issues should be given:

Either is acceptable
 

The use of jargon or technical language ("extend", "cross-apply", "turn", etc.) during rebuttals:

Should be kept to a minimum
 

Final rebuttals should include:

Both
 

Voting issues are:

Absolutely necessary

How do you decide the winner of the round?

I decide who is the person who persuaded me more of their position

How necessary do you feel the use of evidence (both analytical and empirical) is in the round?

8/91 = Not necessary
9 = Always necessary

Please describe your personal note-taking during the round

I write down the key arguments throughout the round
Additional remarks: LD - value and criterion are important. You have to be able to show how each of your contentions ties back to your value, but each of your contentions needs to stand up on its own. Again, I have done readings, literature reviews, and original research my entire professional life, so you should have a solid foundation of evidence to draw from. Be ready to have cards called if I question the validity of your sources. I'm fairly well-versed in different philosophies/philosophers, so don't be afraid to go esoteric on me, but you better be able to logically tie everything together - framework and contentions need to be able to hold up. In CX, you need to be able to address every single one of your opponent's contentions - a dropped contention is an automatic voter for your opponent. Remember to be polite and friendly with you opponents and avoid committing any ad hominem fallacies. Avoid spreading - I can follow your cases at almost any speed, but trying to fill time by speaking too fast will just annoy me. No K's - your job is to argue the topic at hand, not go off on some random tangent arguing the validity of the topic itself. Keep K's in policy debate where they belong.

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