Experience: 4 years policy Neenah High School, 2 years policy UW Madison

For the sake of efficiency, I will start this paradigm with a basic list of issues and mistakes that most frequently appear in rounds and shape my decisions.

1. Impact calculus shapes my decisions more frequently than any other issue. Impact calc is more about relativity than telling me whether or not your advantage/DA has a big impact. Giving me a speech about how large your nuclear war scenario would be is ineffective by itself because it offers no comparative claims that help me distinguish between your impact scenario and your opponents'. Teams have historically won more of my ballots by telling my why their nuclear war scenario is bigger than their opponents' climate change scenario, to use an example. Making DA turns case arguments or case solves the DA arguments are also helpful in facilitating this process for me.

2. "Perm do both" is not an argument by itself. I have dropped affirmative teams in the past because they spent a 2AR telling me that the negative conceded the permutation without actually telling me anything about what the world of the perm looks like. In order to win a permutation, I require both an image of how the CP/K and plan interact in the world of the perm and an explanation of how the perm solves the net benefit.

3. "They conceded condo bad" is not an argument. If the negatives have indeed dropped condo bad or any other theory argument, please extend at least your interpretation and standards. The growing theme here is that conceded arguments still need to have impact calc attached to them in order to sway my decision.

4. If you read framework as part of a kritik, your explanation should thoroughly explain to me how I should evaluate both the kritik and the affirmative through my ballot. I have had many negative teams say something like "the judge should act as a critical educator" without actually telling me how I evaluate arguments under that paradigm. Does that mean the aff gets to weigh its impacts? Is the aff hypothetically implemented? If I don't weigh the aff's impacts, then how DO I weigh the aff?

5. Please treat your opponents with respect. Being assertive and displaying outright hostility towards the other team in cross ex are two different things. Your ethos will not increase by acting excessively sarcastic to your opponents, and it's always uncomfortable to watch rounds like that. I realize that tensions inevitably increase from time to time due to the competitive nature of the activity, but please realize that we are all just here to learn at the end of the day. I'm also not about to vote for racism good or similar arguments, and death good is probably an uphill battle for you.

Next, onto some more specific arguments. I'm not the type to outline every single genre of argument and explain what I like to see, but here are some important ones:

Framework v. K affs: I am more persuaded by arguments geared towards argumentative refinement and institutional engagement being beneficial as opposed to arguments about fairness. I tend to view fairness as an internal link to education, and I'm not usually persuaded by "debate is a game" arguments because I have derived more education from debate than from any other game I've ever played. You will have an easier time winning my ballot if you thoroughly explain the bounds set by your interpretation and clearly explain how a TVA under your interpretation can still access their portion of the library. The less exclusionary your interpretation is to various forms of scholarship, the more likely you will earn my ballot.

K Affs/Antitopical Affs/Non-traditional Affs: I am happy to hear these and evaluate them like I would any other argument. I have a few comments to keep in mind, however. I have seen a lot of teams use some sort of performance, poetry, etc. in the 1AC and then not talk about it for the rest of the round. If you performed something, that performance usually has some sort of value in terms of scholarship, so it's definitely worth your time to extend it. Also, if you're debating against T-USfg, craft your counter-interpretation carefully. Many teams will make a CI that seems rather self-serving and tailored to their specific affirmative. Those highly narrow CI's make it easier to prefer the negative's framework from an education point of view.

Answering Kritiks on the Affirmative: I see a lot of policy aff teams forming unnecessarily defensive strategies when answering kritiks. Spending two minutes of the 2AC explaining to me why there's no link to the K is probably an inefficient way to spend your time because there's almost always SOME link. Instead, focus your time on making the impact of your 1AC massive and using that as offense against the kritik. Impact calc, explaining why the alt can't solve your impact, and explaining why the case solves or is a prerequisite to the K are all better ways of spending your 2AC/1AR/2AR time than trying to no link the K. Also, keep a perm alive in the debate.

Finally, some more general tips for the round:

Impacting your arguments out generally wins more ballots than focusing on every nitpicky detail of the line by line. You obviously shouldn't drop or overlook even "small" arguments on your flow, but a 2NR that discusses 2-3 arguments in depth with comparative work will likely beat a 2AR that spreads for 5 minutes but technically answers everything on the flow. I will probably miss dropped arguments if you spend virtually no time on them. It's always your job to impact out conceded points and turn them into key voting issues for me.

Ethos is crucial. I would bet that 90% of ballots go to the team with the stronger ethos and presentation of their arguments. This means that you should pay close attention to your delivery and the tone of your argumentation. Looking confident and making judges feel like your arguments are obviously true can seriously help shape an RFD. Additionally, take time to slow down in the 2NR/2AR and have two or three "ethos moments" where you stare a judge down and explain to them why a couple arguments are the most important ones in the world. If your 2NR/2AR is just you spreading for 5 minutes without actually changing your inflection or speed to articulate the crucial segments of your speech, I will likely miss some important arguments.

Other than that, I have few preferences from a substantive perspective about what arguments I want you to read or how I want you to argue them. I have seen a diverse array of strategies throughout my time in debate, and I would prefer a round in which both teams just argue whatever they like to argue.

Ehrlich, Miranda

About me: I debated policy in college for four years at the University of Minnesota and was a semi-finalist at the NDT in 2015. While I have many years of experience judging and coaching policy debate, it's been several years since I've judged at a tournament, and the Wisconsin State Debate Tournament is my first time judging online debate. These are also the first rounds I am judging on this topic, so please err on the side of more explanation of acronyms, key concepts, etc.

Couple of top-level comments:

--Dropped arguments need a claim, warrant, and implication – “perm do both” without an explanation of how it solves the net benefit is not a winning argument

--Impact calc is extremely important, but underutilized

--Clarity in speaking is important to me. Please strive to be comprehensible on both tags and card text!

Some specifics:

Disads – The more specific, the better, but if politics is your primary strategy, I’m a perfectly fine judge for you.

Counterplans – Many are theoretically questionable, but affirmatives rarely push back on this. Substantive PICs are awesome – multi-actor international object fiat is the worst. Everything else is somewhere in between.

Kritiks – Can be a viable strategy in front of me, but they need to be applied specifically to all portions of the case. I would highly recommend extending case defense to bolster your K – the most common aff argument I vote on against K’s is “case outweighs”. I also like K affs that are topical, defend a real-world impact, and critique disads – especially if you can point out why the disad is contrived and silly, which it likely is. Generic postmodern K’s, on the other hand – not my cup of tea, and I’m not familiar with the lit base. On many popular K's, the link seems to be "you don't solve enough" rather than "you actively do something bad". If you can't figure out a way to phrase your link as offense and impact it, you will have a hard time winning my ballot.

Non-traditional – It is important to me that the aff explains how they solve the harms that are presented. If they fail to do this, I can be persuaded by presumption. I am skeptical of the "you don't get a perm in a method debate" argument, but could see myself voting for it if debated poorly by the other team or debated exceptionally well by the negative. Affs should be aware that I generally find a well-debated framework argument to be persuasive. When I vote against framework, it is usually because the aff convinces me that they either have a) out-teched the other team or b) that the neg has mishandled a fundamental thesis claim of the aff that interacts with framework. When I vote for framework, it is usually because the neg has both won some offense (usually with an internal link based on predictable limits) and also mitigated the case by explaining how framework can resolve it (such as T version of the aff) or through case-specific defense.

Theory – I generally think conditionality is good, but I can be persuaded to vote on it, especially if the neg has read 3+ conditional advocacies. I do, however, think that if the neg makes performative contradictions – for example, reads a security K and then a terrorism impact on a disad – it can be justification for the aff to sever their reps or argue for judge choice. I do not default to judge kick unless told to do so. Theory is usually a reason to reject the argument, not the team.

Other - I will not vote for arguments that are blatantly morally reprehensible, such as racism good, sexism good, genocide good, etc.

I'm relatively new to Policy Debate. I consider myself a "tabula rasa" (TABS) judge. There are three things I give the greatest weight towards when I evaluate:

(1) Impacts

(2) Sign-posts

(3) Speaker skills - I appreciate clarity and reasonable speed. If I can't understand your arguments, I can't effectively evaluate you!

David Henning—LD Debate Judging Philosophy

2024 NCFL National Debate Tournament Edition

School Affiliation: Director of Debate at Sheboygan South

School Email: dhenning@sasd.net

LD/PF/Policy Rounds judged this season: 53/1/1

Lifetime (LD/PF/Policy): 460/76/2101

Years Judging: 40

IMPORTANT—READ FIRST. Over the course of the last few years, I have noticed several disturbing developments in LD. Stuff I never thought I’d have to discuss. I have that at the end of this philosophy, after the always relevant quotes. Given that we're at nationals, I hope that none of these comments are necessary. Please read allof my paradigm before preferencing or debating in front of me.

My experience with academic debate: I began my debate career during the Carter Administration. I was a policy debater in high school and college during the 1980s. I was an independent (mostly high school) policy debate judge for many years. This is my fourteenth year as Sheboygan South's debate coach, and I was a college policy debate coach for four years. This is my seventh year of coaching L-D debate. I've had some success both as a debater and as a coach. And I have many funny debate stories.

My Paradigm: Tabula Rasa, but please don’t insult my intelligence or agency. Don't tell me I "have to" do or vote for something. Ignore my philosophy at your own peril. Ask if you are unsure. I’m coming closer to Bill Batterman’s Critique of Argument paradigm as applied to LD, since some policy debate paradigms make little sense in LD, although hypothesis testing has some appeal. I like original, unusual or counter-intuitive arguments when done well. Do not assume that anything is inherently good or bad. Far too many debaters assume that things like wasting money, destroying the Constitution or climate change are inherently bad and fail to read impacts to them. I don’t care about “wasted money” and want you to put the bodies on the flow. Hopefully all of them. Provide impacts and analysis if you’re not doing so. And be aware that I oppose "common sense," especially in a debate round.

Technology Time: For this tournament there is 10 minutes allotted to deal with technological issues that may affect the round. If you think you might have tech issues, say something so we can get it resolved. See tournament rules for more information.

Argumentation: A well-written, structured and reasoned case is essential for both debaters. That includes substructure. Be aware that evidence matters, so does evidence quality. Provide qualifications, when possible, for the sources you use and tell me why your evidence is of high quality and/or better than the evidence used by your opponent. Clash directly with the arguments your opponent makes. That means the line-by-line rather than just an argument dump or an overview. Tell me specifically why you achieve your value as defined by your value criterion (or achieve your opponent’s) and why that means you should win the round. Do impact calculus, telling me why the impacts of your case are worse than or outweigh that of your opponent. This is probably the most important thing you can do in the round. Provide a few clearly explained voting issues near the end of your last rebuttal and make a convincing call for the ballot.

Policy Debate or “National-Style” Arguments: I debated and coached both high school and college policy debate, and judged policy debate for 30 plus years. I like policy debate. I am open to pretty much anything you can throw at me. That said, I don’t think LD is a particularly good forum or format for many of the policy arguments. Kritiks, counterplans and disadvantages are necessary, but in LD they are nebulous since there isn’t an agent of change in the resolution, affirmatives usually do not offer a specific plan, and whether there is fiat in LD is another issue altogether. How can the K, CP or DA link if there isn’t a plan? Those running such arguments will want to keep that in mind and explain very clearly how their arguments are linked to the aff or the resolution. Likewise, an affirmative claiming solvency or advantages must meet that same burden. The same holds for kritiks, at least those based on policy action.

The format issue may be even more important. In policy debate, you have more speeches with which to refute and extend arguments. Ks, CPs and DAs introduced in the policy 1NC mean that both aff and neg can get to third line arguments. Fewer speeches means less developed arguments. You physically cannot get past first and sometimes second line argumentation in LD. Speeches are shorter than in policy, which means less time to develop such arguments and read cards. The end result is that debaters just read their argument, the opponent reads their first line answers, and that’s it. For complex (or really cool) arguments, this is unsatisfying and shallow. I really don’t have a solution to any of these issues, and I don’t reject policy arguments in LD, but this is something to keep in mind.

Topicality: Don’t, unless it is particularly egregious. I dislike topicality. Unless you can show me actual, in-round abuse I’m not interested. Don’t tell me that the aff reduces education when you’re doing just that by running lousy topicality arguments.

Framework: Framework is usually so poorly argued I rarely see the point. A framework is an integral part of Lincoln-Douglas debate. By this I am referring to the value and value criterion for the round and/or the role of the ballot. You must specifically define and explain your value, hopefully something better than an ill-defined “morality.” That’s subjective and pretty much every social or cultural group has their own morality. The Nazis had their own “morality”--horrible, but defined. The word "ought" does not imply morality. Define and explain your value criterion. Tell me how your case will best achieve your value as defined by your value criterion. You may attack the framework and case of your opponent or demonstrate how your case better achieves your opponent’s value as defined by their value criterion. Argue the superiority of your value/value criterion to that of your opponent. Be clear with your analysis. If there is a Role of the Ballot you must explain that also. If there are policy arguments, you must say why you outweigh your opponent’s arguments.

Debate Theory: Theory has its place, somewhere, but it is never argued well in LD rounds. Don’t read cards from some debate coach at me. Why is that coach more qualified than you, me or someone judging in the next room? OK, why are they more qualified than me? Explain your theory positions and tell me why they matter in this round. What are the in-round impacts to your theory argument? Are there impacts on the activity itself? Does my ballot have a role in your theory argument? If you are claiming some kind of “abuse” of theory, show me the actual in-round abuse—potential abuse is not enough—and tell me why it should be voted against. I can’t remember the last time I voted on an abuse argument.

Quotes Related to my Judging Philosophy (ask if you have questions)

“It’s a basic truth of life that we tend to give more credence to the opinions of people who know what they are talking about.”---Kel McClanahan.

“Add it up, it all spells duh.”---Buffy Summers

“Yankee detective are always on the TV, ‘cause killers in America work seven days a week.”—Joe Strummer (The Clash)

“They tell lots of lies about me. They say I killed six or seven men for snoring. Well, it ain’t true. I only killed one man for snoring.”---John Wesley Hardin

"Twenty years of schoolin' and they put you on the day shift."---Bob Dylan

“Facts are stupid things.”---Ronald Reagan

"Sometimes I think this job is too much for me."---Warren Harding, on the Presidency

“People say Bob, what do you do with the money we send you? We spend it.”--- Pastor Robert Tilton

“The most popular songs are always the worst.”---Natalie Maines

“Without freedom of speech I might be in the swamp.”---Bob Dylan

"The numbers don't lie. . . I got a hundred forty-three and a thirds percents of winning."---Big Poppa Pump Scott Steiner, and reprised by Maxwell Jacob Friedman

"That was the equation! Existence! Survival must cancel out programming."---Ruk, planet Exo III

"You talk about your Olympic gold medal--big whup. I was all-county in the triple jump."---AJ Styles, to Kurt Angle

"The judge's jokes are always funny."---Dan Hansen

"She's a monster of staggering charmlessness and monumental lack of humor."---Richard Burton on Lucille Ball

“A stitch in time gets the worm.”---Buffy Summers

“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.”---Mark Twain

“The Good Earth—we could have saved it, but we were too damn cheap and lazy.”—Kurt Vonnegut

"Wrong thinking is punishable; right thinking is as quickly rewarded."—The Keeper, planet Talos IV

". . . there are no truths outside the gates of Eden.”—Bob Dylan

"What is truth, if you know what I mean?”—Lionel Hutz

"When Stalin says dance, a wise man dances."—Nikita Khrushchev

"Nothing really matters much, it’s doom alone that counts."—Bob Dylan

and

“You know, it actually can happen. I mean, the chances of it happening are very rare, but it can happen actually. Which is crazy. Not that it—the chances of it are, like, you know, it's like probably “pigs could fly.” Like, I don't think pigs could fly, but actually sharks could be stuck in tornados. There could be a sharknado."---Tara Reid

LD General Issues

This is not English class or forensics. Do not write your case as if it were an assignment that you are going to turn in to your teacher. It’s not an essay. Nor is it an oratory or persuasive speech. Do not “preview” the names of all of your contentions, and then go back and read them. Start with the first contention. Then go to the second contention (if you have one). Provide me with some substructure. I don’t want a preview like you would do in a school paper or presentation or a forensics speech. Previewing messes up my flow. And note that you must use evidence in your case.

Put the citation first, before you read your card, not after. Many judges try to get the tag and the cite. I won’t know it’s a card if you read the cite after your evidence, and then where should I put the cite? You’re already on to the next argument or card. Read the tag line, name and date, then the body of the card. Provide the complete citation in a small font size (8)—that means qualifications, source, the link if it’s an on-line source, date of evidence, date you accessed the evidence and your initials. If you fail to provide a complete cite, or even a partial one, then all I have is some writing by someone with a last name and a date. I can’t treat that as evidence if I can’t see the full cite should it be necessary for me to do so. This does not mean a list of internet links at the end of your speech. That’s useless for debate (and academic) purposes.

Provide the Correct Date. This is the date the article or book was published, not the day you accessed it online. Virtually every online article lists the date the article was first published. Use that date. If the article was updated, and you are accessing the updated article, use that date.

Do Not Use Ellipses ( . . . ). In academic writing it is acceptable to cut out chunks of text you do not want to use. That is not OK in debate. You must keep all the text of the card. If you do not, judges and debaters don’t know if you cut out something important, like “not” or “never.” That’s taking a card out of context. Shrink the text you are not reading to a small font size (8). Both Paperless Debate and the Google Debate Add-on have a shrink feature. Use it. If your opponent notices ellipses in the body of your card and points it out in the round, then it is no longer a card. If ellipses are in the original, indicate that.

Do Use Brackets [ ] sparingly. Brackets are appropriate for brief explanatory or clarifying text. A few words, maybe a sentence. Use sparingly and only when essential. If you’re adding multiple sentences to your card, you are altering the card itself, and that is inappropriate. Adding a lot of text is akin to taking a card out of context or fabricating it altogether.

Delivery Style: Speak loudly and be clear. That is the most important thing. I work hard to try to get down as much of each speech as possible on my flow. Speak toward me, not your opponent. If it is especially noisy then speak louder. Your points may suffer and I may miss arguments if I can’t hear you clearly. I don't care if you sit or stand. Don't walk around. I don’t care about eye contact or gestures or a forensics-style polished or memorized speech. That stuff is meaningless in a debate round.

Do not expect 30 speaker points. The magical speaker point pixies have been very active the last few years. I have never seen so many 30s given out by judges. No one I have seen this year has warranted a 30. I have not given a 30 in fifteen years. 29s are relatively rare, but I do give them. I gave a 29.5 and seven 29s this season. And remember (coaches and judges take note of this) that there are tenths (or halves) of a point, and I use them regularly. The strangest thing is that I have not changed the way I award speaker points. I was once one of the highest speaker point judges, and now I am one of the lowest. But don't worry, I haven't given less than a 25 in seventeen years.

Heed my “louder” and “clear” warnings. Many debaters ask me if I am OK with speed. I answer yes. I seriously doubt if you're fast enough to give me trouble. But clarity is much more important than rate. Often it goes like this: I answer yes, the debater then proceeds to speak at a much faster than normal (conversational) rate, but is unclear. I shout “clear.” No change in delivery. A little while later I again shout “clear.” No change. In my previous philosophy I said I may deduct a speaker point after repeated “clear” warnings. I will now deduct a half speaker point if I have to give a “clear” warning after three. At some point I will give up shouting “clear” and your speaker points will suffer a little more. You have been warned, because clarity is key.

Have a way for your opponent to see your case and evidence. Use NSDA File Share in the competition room. You can also put the document in the chat. Use email chains if that fails. Include the judge in the chain. Should evidence be challenged in the round, judges and competitors must have access to this.

No New Arguments in Rebuttals. New arguments in rebuttals diminish or eliminate the opportunity for your opponent to respond. I will not vote on or consider new arguments in rebuttals, whether your opponent points this out or not.

Other issues. A roadmap is short, just the order, like aff, then neg, or the other way. Don’t tell me every argument you plan to make, or all the things you plan to refute. And you refute or rebut opponents' arguments, not "rebuttal" them. Don’t read a bunch of definitions at me—it’s usually pointless and is difficult to get down on the flow. Use all your prep time. Even if you don’t think you need it (you do), I need it to write comments. I will be unhappy if you don’t use all your prep time. I disclose and provide comments, and I encourage you to ask questions after my decision and comments.

Topicality: Although I am not a fan of topicality, I will vote on it. However, I am more likely to vote on topicality if the negative is able to prove in-round abuse. If the negative is able to garnish specific links, it is going to be pretty difficult to prove loss of ground or fairness in order to claim abuse. This is generally how I also vote on theory.

Disadvantages: I will vote on a disad if the negative can prove that the impacts of the disad outweigh the solvency or at least risk of solvency of the affirmative. I believe that the internal link of a disad is a must. It’s difficult to make the leap from some generic or somewhat generic link to some large, terminal impact like nuclear war or extinction; there needs to be an internal link that ties the link and the impact. I also believe that uniqueness is essential, in the sense of how the affirmative plan uniquely triggers the link to the disad. Affirmatives are generally more likely to win a disad by running offense on the disad flow; just a suggestion.

Kritiks: I am kind of in love with K’s and tend to vote on them more often than not. I think that K’s are important in the sense that they tend to raise larger questions about the world that we live in, and the policies we are discussing. They engage in the mindset or framework behind these policies, as well as how these policies perpetuate or worsen the status quo, regarding issues like discrimination, racism, sexism, oppression, poverty, etc. If a negative is able to prove that critiquing these assumptions are good, I’m likely to buy the K framework, or at least weigh it against the policy framework of the affirmative. I think it’s important that the affirmative use the 1AC as a resource for showing solvency of the harms of the K. Like a disad, the affirmative should be making uniqueness claims on the K, questioning the marginal increase in disadvantage of the status quo via enactment of the policy change, comparative to the solvency of the affirmative advantages; if the affirmative is able to prove that isn’t reason enough to reject the affirmative, I’m likely to vote affirmative. I am not a fan of reject the affirmative alternatives, there needs to be more depth, more analysis to the alternative; or give me some analysis why rejecting the affirmative is key, ie. in-round solvency, role of the ballot claims, etc.

Counterplans: A counterplan should be competitive; meaning it should be mutual exclusive of the 1AC, and should include a net benefit. Without a net benefit, the CP is not competitive, and I have no reason to vote for the CP over the affirmative plan; this pretty much comes down to the impact debate again on the net benefit versus the affirmative plan.

Framework: I think framework is a must when it comes to K’s and performance cases. You need to make it clear to me how to frame the round, why I should prefer one framework over another. I also think it is essential to impact framework, within the round, as well potential implications outside of the round.

I consider myself a biased tabs judge. I will vote on any arguments, but I tend to need a far more compelling story than dropped blip args before I'll vote on T and theory. Tell me what the in-round abuse is, paint me a picture of the ragged corpse of debate caused by voting for arguments of the kind your opponent is making, regale me with a description of the bitter tears of your mother when she contemplates the fact that conditional counterplans will continue in debate, whatever-just make it strong, believable, and give it impacts that demand immediate action on my part. In general, I'll default to "reject the arg not the team" without a quite good reason to do otherwise.

I'm happy to hear and vote on critiques, but I would ask you to actually do some critiquing when you run them By this I mean that the link flow is the most important flow on the K, and that it's easy to convince me that a well-explained link is applicable across the flow.  It also means that I don't buy that there is such a thing as the "risk of a link" to the K-either you are making well-warranted indictments of the plans underlying assumptions and representations or you are not.  Finally, it means that I don't default to the perm without genuine argumentation-if the neg is putting in genuine link work, the idea that the perm might somehow be a thing to default to strikes me as facially ludicrous.  For affs, this means that a robust challenge to the link and a careful delineation of exactly what your plan entails is an easy A strategy.

In general, I prize rounds involving debaters actually doing some real evidence and argument analysis, and that's probably an easy way to impress me as well. You're better off going for one very strong argument that you can support with detailed analysis than ten little positions and a lot of screaming about nuclear war. I'm rarely impressed by claims that one drop on a 20 point flow is necessarily round-decisive. Do your impact analysis, as well-within the limitations outlined above, I will weigh the round as the debaters tell me to.

I don't often call for ev unless it's questioned in the round or I think it's highly fishy. I am very willing to yell at you about dubious ev, and to drop you if I catch you with flat out lies or out of context cards. I'll make that judgment whether or not the other team brings it up, but I will only drop you on it absent a team challenge if I know for an absolute fact that your ev was cut out of context or has similar strong issues. Still, I read a lot, and may have seen your literature...

As far as speed goes, I'm fine with it, but probably not as good as some about hearing everything you do in a very fast round. If I'm starting to miss arguments or cards (and I try to flow your warrants as well as your cards), or if you start mumbling, I'll ask you to slow down or clear up, and I need you to respect that. If I ask you to do this a couple times, you're better off pretending I said that I insist on conversational speed.

Civility, respect and and alignment to league policies are expected.

I am heavily focused on the clarity of your arguments; specifically, the flow of cause-and-effect links to your ultimate Impacts.

Many debaters get lost in the transitions from argument to argument; focus on the clarity of the linkages/transitions which connect your speech together. Provide a Rebuttal which summarizes how your Main Arguments connect to a MAJOR IMPACT which significantly affects society.

Many debaters get lost on the transition between the current argument and the next point. Transition statements between ideas and arguments help the Judge follow your flow. Clarity of the flow of argumentation and the Final Impact are key, here. CLARITY of the flow of your arguments are key.

Tell us how your arguments uphold your Values and Value Criterion in your Final Rebuttal, as well as their essential link to the Final Impact.

Updated:10/17/18

I don't get to judge much due to helping run tournaments in the state. Did 4 years HS policy, 2.5 years at Georgia State. Came back to coach in the Milwaukee Urban Debate League, at Rufus King for 2.5 years, and now starting my 2nd year coaching at Marquette University HS. I am in my 9th year of coaching and judging. I have seen and have heard alot of args.

I love policy debate overall.

My threshold for voting on T and if you are claiming potential abuse is low to none. It hasn't happened in the last year or so.

Any questions, just ask.

Experience:

I was a policy debater at Waukesha South for 3 years and a PF debater for one. I've been judging for 3 years and am coaching PF and LD for my second year at Waukesha South.

Speed:

Speed is fine with me as long as you slow down for tags, analytics, role of the ballots and plan texts (I like to understand what I'm voting for and why) and make it clear when you're moving onto a different card. I prefer to not have evidence flashed to me so I can judge based on how good a job you do of debating as opposed to how good I am at reading. On that note, if you really want me to have it in front of me you are welcome to flash to me as well.

Kritical Arguments: Having been a policy debater, I am okay with anything progressive in LD. However if you are going to run anything beyond a typical cap k, etc. I prefer to have them clearly explained to me instead of being spread (even if this means you just take a couple seconds after each card to put it in your own words).

Theory: I am also okay with any theory arguments. If you want me to vote on this however I will need very clear and convincing standards and voters.

Framework: Quite honestly, the easiest way to win my ballot is to present me with a clear framework/role of the ballot, explain it, and don't let me forget it. Tell me clearly why you win the round under this and why your opponent doesn't. If your opponent reads framework and you don't explain to me why you fit into it. If you both read competeing frameworks and nobody tells me why to prefer theirs I will revert to a simple cost-benefit analysis mindset.

CPs: I am not a fan of CPs on their own. I do like them run in conjunction with something, such as a K with a CP alt or a CP with a DA.

Speaking Preferences: This all having been said, I am perfectly happy judging an entirely traditional LD debate round as well. Sometimes it's even refreshing to see. I do appreciate debaters who don't spread and make an effort to speak eloquently and fully understand every card they read. I'm not a fan of rude debaters but a little bit of sass will probably make me smile. In crossfire, don't dance around your opponent's questions. If you answer them in a straight forward manner I'll understand your arguments more which is better for you in the long run.

I try to remain as much of a tabs judge as possible, but nobody's perfect.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Former LD/PF Coach at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee, WI and former PF debater at Brookfield East High School (class of 2014) in Brookfield, WI.

As far as the round goes, my bottom line is that I don’t want to have to intervene so please make the round as clear as possible. Speaking more generally, I think debate can teach

Short Version

LD

I prefer traditional debate.

I'm open to progressive arguments if they're well-presented and clearly link into the resolution, but tread carefully and at your own risk.

Don't spread. It's a cheap strat with no real world value. Left up to me, it would be banned from debate.

PF

PF is supposed to appeal to a lay audience. Please don't be lazy and fire off all your research at me as quickly as possible Be very clear with arguments and thorough with your rebuttals.

Give voters in the Final Focus. Please.

Long Version

LD

I’m theoretically open to anything as a judge so long as you extend your arguments throughout the round, offer good impact calc, and provide solid links to the resolution (especially if you plan on running anything 'progressive'). This may seem basic but it's only happened in 10% of the debates I've judged, maybe less.

As far as content goes, I would much rather judge a traditional debate. This means providing a framework (ex: value and value criterion) followed by a few topical contentions. I'm okay with Kritiks and theory so long as they apply to the resolution. For example, a Native-American oppression K works well with a resolution about education (seeing as the US actively destroyed Native-American culture through boarding schools), but it doesn't work nearly as well when debating criminal justice. In other words, please tailor your Ks (or theory) to the resolution. If you don't, I'll conclude that someone gave you something to read and that you don't actually know how to debate and will be clamoring for reasons to drop you for the remainder of the debate.

Spreading is a cancer in LD debate. Sure, debate is like a game and spreading is a strategy you can employ to win the game, but it's not something you're going to go pro in- there's no professional debate league. The value of debate to you as a debater derives from the skills it equips you with to navigate through life (i.e. research, articulation, persuasiveness, audience adaptation, etc). The point is that spreading is not a skill you will use in life after debate.

To clarify, I won't drop you for spreading but will gleefully tank your speaks. If both debaters want to spread I will judge the round as you wish but will tank your speaks. I'm sure this annoys many of the "progressive" LDers reading this, but if you're actually good at debate, adapting shouldn't be a problem.

PF

It saddens me that I need to put this in my paradigm, but I will drop you if you run anything progressive in Public Forum. PF is supposed to appeal to a lay audience; it is a debate where any generally informed member of the public should be able to judge. If you try and go over the heads of the judge or your opponent and avoid thoughtfully engaging with the resolution, I will not hesitate to drop you on that alone. You are a cancer to PF and should strongly consider moving to policy or LD.

As far as best practices go to win me over in PF (again, pretty basic stuff but I rarely see it in round): make sure you extend any offense you plan on using in the Final Focus through the summary, provide good impact calc (ex: why should I prefer saving lives over saving money?), and please give voters.

It amazes me when I hear people say "and if I have time, I'll give voters." Voters are by far the most important part of the Final Focus. You can't whine about being judge-screwed if you didn't do the work yourself and clarify what the judge should vote on.

Feel free to reach out with any questions: ashveersingh12@gmail.com

Jerrod L. Walker

POLICY DEBATE PARADIGM

Varsity Switch Sides

jerrodwalker3@gmail.com

Tabula Rosa w/ Emphasis on Policy

===============THIS IS THE PART YOU NEED TO READ===============

I will listen to any argument, but I need you to weigh the round for me with real world impacts. Seriously, if you want to run a peanut butter and jelly plan that leads to the death of superman, I will listen to you as long as you explain what the impact of this fictional character’s death has on the world and why it is important. I expect everyone to make full use of logic during debate rounds and do the internal link work for impacts. Do not just read the card and expect that to be enough. You need to analyze these cards and give me their warrants. I do not like speed because most people are not clear when doing it. I will tell you once to be clear during the round. From that point forward, I simply will not flow you. I will try to listen, but you are risking me forgetting an argument. To be explicit: I do not like speed, but I’m okay if you do it AND YOU ARE CLEAR; do not go at a snail’s pace because then I become bored.

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What is your ideal Debate Round?

I look for excellent direct line-by-line; tell me what they argued, and what your counter-argument is. I need good analysis of cards presented by both sides; do not just read the cards at me and expect me to make the connection. Speed through the card, yes, but slow down just a bit for your analysis if it’s important enough to you. I like to see a variety of arguments run, but tied into a strategy. In each rebuttal speech, you need to weigh the round for me. I also like it if debaters do not sound as if they’re about to die (the gasping thing…don’t do it.)

What are your thoughts on Topicality?

Topicality is about what the plan actually does – what does the plan mandate must happen? Topicality has little to do with advantages that are claimed, the effects of doing the plan, or anything conditional. In other words, your plan text must be topical. Therefore, being effectually topical is a problem because it explodes the topic – a negative simply cannot prepare to debate every single case that is tangentially related to the resolution. However, being effectually topical can be legitimate under some resolutions and it is up to the affirmative to defend their effectual topicality if this is where they fall. By the same token, if negatives argue that the affirmatives are effectually topical, they must tell me why that’s a bad thing both for debate AND they should provide examples of topical plans. The same applies for extra topicality – when an affirmative team is extra-topical, they are including mandates within the plan that are not topical with the resolution. Whether that means the advantages attached to that mandate are illegitimate or the entire plan is illegitimate is up to the negatives to prove. Topicality is also a gateway issue – if the affirmative is not topical and we cannot debate the actual resolution, then nothing else in the round matters and the affirmative loses automatically. It’s out of my hands.

Negatives can use topicality as a part of their strategy – it’s a legitimate argument. Yes, I agree that in most cases it is just a time-suck, but it’s also a very predictable strategy (so I don’t buy that topicality is an abusive argument). Affirmatives should also understand that I’m a writer and I have a degree in English and Legal Studies; in other words, I believe that debating about words and what they mean can be very educational. Not to mention that if policy debate is meant to simulate a courtroom, definitions of words become incredibly important at the appellate level. So affirmatives should know that standards or voters that say, “no one wants to debate about words” are not convincing. However, if topicality IS part of your negative strategy and you run a topicality argument, you should know that I’m going to look very strangely at my flow if I see lots of on-case turns or takeouts or case-specific DA’s. Even still, the burden is on the affirmative to point this out for me and tell me why this is abusive for the round or harmful for debate. Don’t you dare expect me to make arguments or connect the dots for you. That’s your job.

What are your thoughts on Solvency, Advantages and Impacts?

It’s a very simple concept, right? If you cannot solve for your harms or your advantages, then your plan doesn’t matter. Your cards need to actually prove your solvency; if you do not have a card that explicitly says that your plan will solve for the harms/contentions/advantages, you need to do the internal link work to show me how you will solve. Now, because I am a tabs judge with an emphasis on policy, you are probably going to want to run a plan that has advantages that solve real-world problems. Frankly, I don’t believe a nuclear war is ever going to happen. Maybe there will be some nuclear strikes that lead to a war, but the war itself won’t be nuclear. Now, if you can give me legitimate reasoning why nuclear war is likely in a specific scenario (rather than some convoluted systemic postulating that ends with everyone dying), I’ll give it to you. But just as I expect teams to prove topicality, I also expect teams to prove to me through logical internal links backed by evidence that the Nuclear War (or Extinction) is going to happen. But if a team tells me in a speech with pure analytics and empirics that extinction and nuclear war are unlikely, I’m going to be very inclined to believe them. And let’s be honest here – there are impacts beyond these highly unrealistic end-game scenarios. What about genocide? Economic collapse? Human rights violations? Territorial or civil war? Perpetuation of –isms (sexism, racism, elitism) that lead to oppression and dehumanization? At least all of these have actually happened, right? Come on, be creative!

Additionally, because of my emphasis on policy, I am looking for real-world impacts and impact analysis throughout the round. It’s not enough that you simply have impacts, however real they may be. What’s more important is that the impact calculus is done, especially in rebuttals since I do not consider impact calculus a new argument. Talk to me about probability – which is more likely to happen? Just as I was saying above, I’m probably more inclined to believe in a dehumanization/ human rights impact than a mass extinction impact. Why? Because one of those things has happened to the human race before – empirics can be convincing. Tell me about the timeframe of the impacts. If someone has a bunch of internal links that leads to this huge impact (i.e. global warming = climate change = melting of polar ice caps = flooding of the world = loss of life, crops, etc. = extinction) and the opponent have the same impact with a timeframe that happens sooner (i.e. biological warfare = outbreak of uncontrollable disease = extinction), I might be inclined to go with the extinction that happens sooner. You know, if you’ve convinced me that extinction is going to happen in the first place. Talk to me about magnitude – if both sides are arguing about people dying, then which impact has more people dying. If we’re debating dehumanization and one has an impact that dehumanizes a larger group of people (i.e. racism), then I have to go with the impact that saves the most people.

That’s basic impact calculus that I expect to happen, even at a novice level. Now, for advanced Varsity debaters, I’m expecting you guys to be a bit more sophisticated with your arguments. If your opponents are arguing that sexism causes human rights violations but you are arguing an impact of terrorism and national security, sure they might have a larger magnitude, but we can reverse human rights violations eventually. We can’t reverse death. This is called arguing reversibility of an impact – if your impact is irreversible and the opponents can be corrected, you could legitimately argue that for the time being, your impact is more important. You could also take out their internal links with your impact – urban sprawl and industrial development destroys biodiversity and the environment, so the former outweighs the latter impact/advantage. You could also take out their impact by inserting your impact as an internal link that causes their impact – in other words, dehumanization leads to genocide, so stopping dehumanization is more important. You could also include their impact or advantage along with yours; for example, a third world war is inclusive of a civil war (and has a larger magnitude), so the world war outweighs the civil war. Whatever you decide, just be sure not to be lazy during the speeches and forget to do impact analysis.

What are your thoughts on Disadvantages?

Let’s start with the basics. Regardless of how you structure your Disadvantage, there absolutely must be uniqueness, external links, internal links, and impacts. If you want to combine the uniqueness and external link to be a “Unique Link” card, hey, that’s your prerogative (and a time-saver).

However you handle it, I need the negative team to explain to me why the impacts you’re going to claim have not happened yet and how the plan presented by the opposing side will uniquely cause those impacts. For example, if the negative team were going for an economic collapse scenario, then their uniqueness would show that either the economy is doing well now or that we are improving/seeking to improve the economy. I expect uniqueness cards to be current, meaning you should keep those updated throughout the debate season. There are a few scenarios where uniqueness may not require the most up-to-date cards, but that is a rarity.

When giving me a link, please avoid generic links. If every single possible case links, then I have to agree that it’s an abusive argument. Unless of course you tell me why generic disadvantages are good for debate. In fact, when it comes to generic disadvantages, the only time I really approve of them is when a team is running them along with a topicality argument and I’m told “this is all we can run because of how non-topical their plan is.” That is called good strategy. Otherwise, if your DA is important to you, make sure the link is specific to the plan you are debating against. Whatever the case, it is the presenter’s burden to prove to me that the plan causes the disadvantage you are claiming. Following your link, you should probably have an internal link if the connection between the external link and the impact is unclear. You could leave it out, but running a DA in the 2NC with no internal link and then trying to provide them in rebuttals is abusive. It’s simply good practice to ensure that you have done the work to show me how this change that the plan causes leads directly (or systemically) to the impact you provide. Refer to the above section for my thoughts on impacts.

As far as how I like to see teams defeat Disadvantages, there are a few ways that I think work very well. The easiest is usually going to be demonstrating that you do not link to the disadvantage (No Link arg). You could also argue that your plan doesn’t cause the internal link that causes the impact. And then, of course, you can argue that there is no uniqueness – demonstrating that the link has happened in the past and the impact has not happened. Then there is the no threshold argument, arguing that the link does not make it clear when the impact will happen, which is mildly convincing. Now, these are all defensive arguments and while easier to make, are not the best for a good debate round. An offensive argument that works very well with me is a link turn, which I think should always happen in two ways: 1) Show me that the impact is already going to happen in the status quo (Non-Unique) and 2) Show me that you actually do the opposite of what the opponent’s link says (turn). This is a great strategy because now you can include their impact scenario as an advantage to your plan! Now, if you want to make things really interesting for me, do impact turns where you try to convince me that the impacts of the disadvantage are actually a good thing. Again, I am a tabs judge, so I’ll consider any argument fairly. Put the opponent into a position where they must respond to your arguments or risk them becoming advantages to your plan. Just be careful not to double turn the disadvantage by doing a link turn and an impact turn (because then, you’re telling me that the status quo is doing something that you stop, but that thing you stop is actually a good thing…meaning I shouldn’t do your plan). I’ll also accept severance permutations if you can convince me they are legitimate.

As far as how I like to see disadvantages run, I only have a few things. First, please clearly say which cards apply to which arguments: Uniqueness/Unique Link, Link, Internal Link, Impact, etc. (same for responding: No uniqueness, No Link, Link Turn, Impact Turn, No Internal Link, etc.) Second, disads are fair during any constructive, even during the 2NC – still, it’s sporting to ensure that you do most of your off-case in the 1NC. Oh, and side-note: I’m going to be very impressed by an affirmative team that effectively uses a disadvantage against a counterplan.

What are your thoughts on Counterplans?

While in traditional, old school debate, the negative’s job was to negate the resolution (argue against it), today, we realize that sometimes, a resolution is such an obvious societal good that counterplans have become common. And you know what? I love it when negatives run counterplans! I am of the philosophy that once an affirmative gives us a topical plan text, they abandon all other grounds within the resolution to the negative because you are saying that your plan is the best method for answering the resolution, or at the very least the only plan you’ll be advocating this round. As a tabs judge, I don’t care whether the plan is topical or non-topical. A smart affirmative that runs into a non-topical CP would be smart to argue how abusive it is to allow a negative to run non-topical plans. But ensure that you understand the debate theory behind such an argument.

Unless you convince me otherwise (which, again, is more than possible), a negative team must offer a counterplan that is competitive. This means that the CP should be fundamentally better and different to the affirmative plan and any combination of the plan and counterplan; in other words, they should be mutually exclusive, meaning unable to exist simultaneously.

One final thing on counterplans: You MUST present a counterplan in the 1NC and if you continue to advocate for the counterplan in the negative block, I expect you to continue it throughout the round. If you’re going to make us debate a counterplan at all, it had better not be a time-suck. Hypothesis testing is fine, but you can determine after you’ve heard the 2AC if you want to continue that route or not. If you do, then stick to it. If you’ve run a bunch of other arguments along with a CP during the negative block, then kick the CP in the 2NR, I will totally side with the affirmatives if they claim abuse.

What are your thoughts on Framework, Theory & Kritiks?

When dealing with a tabs judge like me, providing a framework is one way to take control of the debate. In most cases, judges will default to “calculative framework,” which doesn’t necessarily consider which course of action is the best, but which course of action causes the least damage (or saves the most lives/resources/etc.). Now, for many teams, this is perfectly fine. But depending on what type of arguments you run, you might decide that you need me to consider things differently. Perhaps you need me to think about morality over anything else. Perhaps you need me to consider future advantages over immediate disadvantages. Again, when you run a framework, you’re telling me how to evaluate the round in the end (and for a tabs judge, that works out really well). Here’s the thing – if a team runs a framework argument, you MUST respond to it or you’re telling me that you agree with them, which probably isn’t in your best interests. And I get rather excited when I have two competing frameworks – it makes the debate more interesting.

When it comes to debate theory and kritikal arguments, I absolutely LOVE them. When it comes down to it, we are debating about ideas. If I vote for your plan, in the real world, nothing actually happens. But a kritik allows us to examine how we are thinking, which can have a very real impact in our lives. In my humble opinion, kritiks tend to be some of the most important debates in the round. Indeed, it’s important enough that it’s considered an a priori argument, meaning that I will consider a kritik before I consider any other argument(indeed, I’ll place it directly after topicality during evaluation). But as much as I love kritiks, I love coherent debate more. That is, if you do not understand a kritik well enough to make what you’re arguments are explicitly clear to your opponents, you shouldn’t use it. I don’t want to see someone struggling to make an argument they don’t understand… or, worse, running arguments that bite into their own kritik.

If you do decide to run a kritik, you must have all 3 parts of the kritik and you should clearly sign-post them  (unless, of course, your kritik is against linear thinking…). First, you must provide me with a link. Because a kritik is usually a philosophical argument, there’s no need to prove that it is not happening in the status quo (in other words, I don’t expect a kritik to have uniqueness to the opponent’s arguments/plan), but you have to show me how the affirmatives actually bite into the kritik. You must explain to me how the affirmative or negative’s entire mindset is wrong. When giving me the link, you should clearly explain what the opponent’s mindset is as well as explaining the fundamental ideals behind that mindset. Next, you’re going to want to give me an implication. Here, you will explain to me what impact that mindset has on the world or society. What is the moral/ethical/real world impact? Finally, a kritik must have an alternative; it’s all well and good that we understand how harmful a certain mindset is, but what is our alternative? Give me an option that is better than what the opponent is doing.

Defeating kritiks can be done in a number of ways, but there are a few that I’m partial to. Among the easiest ways to defeat them with me is to attack the alternative. I am not a fan of the “reject the affirmative” or “reject the mindset” alternative and, should the opponent be so foolish as to not read this and use that sort of alternative, feel free to point out that they’ve provided no “real” alternative. You’d also want to point out that the mindset also exists in the status quo while doing so. For me, that’s enough. Now if they actually went ahead and provided a real alternative, it becomes a bit stickier for you.

You could also go for more logical refutation. Maybe the opponent doesn’t actually end up making an argument for something that is objectionable, so then you shouldn’t be required to respond to it. After all, they have an entire speech to make a clear argument and shouldn’t be allowed to expand on an a priori topic so late in a debate when they’ve already had the opportunity. You could concede that what the opponents claim as a bad mindset is bad, but that it doesn’t actually link to your case. You could argue that after re-thinking everything through, that the kritik actually still doesn’t matter that much (all the easier if you’ve provided a framework for the debate already). If the negatives have run any other arguments that bite into their kritik, you could argue that the kritik should be thrown out for pure reasons of inconsistency. Sure, I’ll buy that (but here, you run into the risk of the negs kicking that argument; you can try to still point out that the kritik is invalid since, regardless of whether they kicked the argument or not, they’ve already demonstrated the exact same mindset, so they are no better and don’t deserve to win the round).

More interesting still, you could decide to argue against the kritik itself! Prove, through reasoning and evidence, that the kritik simply isn’t true. Or, you could argue that the assumptions being made are justified because it’s the best option we have (again, easier with a framework). For those most comfortable with traditional policy debate, it’s probably your best bet.

The most interesting of answers involves kritiking the kritik. You could kritik the assumptions that the kritik is making using your own evidence and analysis (so yeah, make blocks against common kritiks). You could argue that kritiks are, by their nature, self-contradictory; if kritiks are saying we must question all assumptions, then you can probably convince me that negatives have the burden of proving that there are no hidden assumptions in their kritik and that before we consider any part of their kritik, they must provide evidence that they are not vulnerable to hidden assumptions (almost like a T argument). Finally, you could lean on the fact that I place emphasis on policy and argue that kritiks are not valid because of their nihilistic nature – if we have to question everything, then we are left with never-ending skepticism with no solution, which just isn’t acceptable for the world. If we are to get on with life and solve problems, then we have to reject kritiks as a concept because they stop us from living. I may love kritiks, but I concede that this might be a problem with kritikal arguments. You just have to argue it.